Black Pawn
by Noizchild Johnson
Summary: Second one of my series, "Ghost Doll." Anna gets the motivation for revenge against Haruka after she gets an e-mail telling her to look up a document about her dead aunts and turns to Tsuzuki and the Shinigami for help.
1. Black Pawn

Black Pawn

_Chapter One: Sisters:_

_July 7th, 1979._

"_Promise me we will stay together forever, big brother."_

_He smiled and took her tiny hand, "I promise."_

_June 1st, 2009._

Anna's motive for revenge began with another e-mail. Curious, the woman licked on the alert. The address was from thehawk and the title had no subject.

_Huh?_, Anna thought. Instinct told her to delete it, but curiosity won out. Anna clicked on the message.

Look up Kimoto Yumiko and Kirika.

_How do they know about aunts Yumiko and Kirika?_, Anna thought as she stared at the screen, _and why do they want me to look them up?_ The woman opened a new tab and started her Google search.

"Kimoto Yumiko and Kirika," she said as she typed it in. When the suggestion box popped up, Anna's eyes widened at the first suggestion.

_Kimoto Yumiko and Kirika disappearance?_, she thought. She had heard of the stories, but that was all they were. Anna clicked on the suggestion and the results came up in seconds. She looked through everything. One link caught her eye; a case file from the police that had been declassified in the nineties. Anna felt her heart racing against her chest. She was going deeper into the abyss; one click and it was all a one-way trip. Part of her screamed "run away," but yet, curiosity ate at her psyche. Anna clicked on the link and the page popped up in seconds.

"April 26th, 1982," Anna read, "Thirteen-year-old Kimoto Kirika reported missing. 137.16 cm, short black-brown hair to her ears, and skinny frame, last seen in a white t-shirt, blue short shorts, pink sneakers, gold butterfly earrings, and a bright yellow shoulder bag, leaving her home in Arima, Kita-ku, Kobe. Case may be connected to older sister's, Kimoto Yumiko, disappearance two months prior. No word on Yumiko's case."

_Aunt Yumiko, Aunt Kirika…_, Anna thought. She sat back in her chair and looked at her bracelet. This used to be Kirika's; Daisuke trusted his daughter with the jewelry. Anna heard stories about her father's younger sisters. Daisuke spoke positively about them, but yet he always seems so sad. A thought crossed Anna's mind.

_What if…grandma killed them?_, she thought. Haruka _did_ have Daisuke killed that night ten years ago. What if she had the sisters killed for the same reason? Anna toughened up with her thoughts. She would have to tell Tsuzuki in the morning.

Meanwhile, Emiko and Hotaru lied in bed together after sex. Hotaru was just about to go to sleep. Emiko had just shut her eyes when a great idea crossed her mind. She quickly opened her eyes and rolled over.

"Hoto-chan," she whispered as she gently tapped her girlfriend on the arm, "Hoto-chan, get up! I have to tell you something!" The Loli Goth mumbled to herself as she woke back up.

"What is it, Emiko-sama?" she questioned. Her girlfriend smiled at her.

"Got a great idea!" she whispered. Hotaru tilted her head at her.

"What?" she asked.

Emiko chuckled in the dark. "You notice how Anna and Tsuzuki seem so close together, right?"

Hotaru thought about that for a second, "Yeah, why?"

Emiko leaned in close to her face, "I think, now go with me here, okay?"

Hotaru nodded at her, "Okay, I am following."

Emiko smiled and took a deep breath. Hotaru watched now intrigued. Her girlfriend grinned at her latest developing plot.

She leaned in close to her girlfriend's ear, "Let's hook them up in a steamy romantic relationship!" Hotaru turned to her looking uneasy.

The butch demon noticed her face, "What's wrong?"

Hotaru shrugged, "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

Emiko looked at her funny, "What do you mean? It's perfect!"

Hotaru shook her head, "What if something goes wrong?"

Her girlfriend sat up, "Hoto-chan, this isn't like you. You're usually onboard with my matchmaking schemes."

Her girlfriend took a long breath out., "It's just…"

"Just what?"

The loli demon looked up at her, "They both are emotionally damaged people!"

"Exactly, Tsuzuki and Anna would be perfect for each other! They could fix their damage with love. We won't even have to try at all with hooking them up. They can already connect with each other. We just need to get them to see that."

The loli demon looked at her, "You promise?"

Emiko gently took her hand smiling. "Of course, I do!"

Hotaru thought about the pitched scheme. Her girlfriend waited; Emiko needed her lover on this latest plan.

_Come on_, the butch demon thought, _Please say yes! Please say yes!_

Hotaru finally turned to her, "Okay, how do we get them to see their feelings for each other?"

Emiko grinned at her wickedly, "By power of suggestion, my sexy friend!" Hotaru grinned in mischief. Her girlfriend nodded at her.

"See? You're loving my brilliant plan already!"

"Mmm-hm!"

Emiko lightly kissed Hotaru on the nose. "We start tomorrow!" she announced in a whisper.

"Roger!" Hotaru replied. They shared one more kiss before falling asleep in each other's arms.


	2. Proposal

_Chapter Two: Proposal:_

The doorbell rang at seven in the morning. Anna hurried to the door and opened it a crack. Tsuzuki looked inside at her. The woman became overjoyed as she slid the door wide open.

"Tsuzuki," the woman chirped, "You're here!"

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Anna's face changed to a somber look.

"I think grandma killed someone dear to papa," she said. The Shinigami looked at her puzzled.

"Who?" he asked.

"Come with me," she whispered. Anna turned and went down the hall with Tsuzuki following behind. They came into her room. Daisuke's office looked more like her space. Before, Anna still had everything still packed up with only her personal photos were on the wall. Now, the woman had unpacked some. Tsuzuki couldn't help but to smile. At least, she was planning to stay in Japan until…

"Tsuzuki," a voice spoke up. The Shinigami came back to earth. Anna stood in front of him with a serious look on her face.

"Yeah?" the Shinigami asked quickly.

"Do you remember the Kimoto Yumiko and Kirika cases?" Anna asked. Tsuzuki kept eyes on her.

"Yes, why?" he replied. The woman turned away and booted up her laptop. Once her computer came up, Anna logged in and clicked on Foxfire. She pulled up the bookmarked police report. Tsuzuki read it quietly and turned back to Anna. She looked at him seriously.

"I think grandma killed my aunts that year," she said in a trembling voice. Tsuzuki looked at her confused.

"Why?" he asked.

"Same reason she had papa killed," she replied, "She wanted their kitsune!"

"Okay, saying that is true," Tsuzuki reasoned, "We didn't see any burn marks on the bodies. Come to think of it, the bodies were never found."

"Exactly," Anna added, "She killed them and did something with the bodies." Tsuzuki looked uneasy about this theory. Anna noticed his face.

"Look," she said, "Do you guys miss any souls in '82? Think hard! This is really important for me!" Tsuzuki thought about it for a moment.

"I can't remember off of the top of my head," he replied. Anna grabbed at his coat desperately. The Shinigami was caught off guard be such sudden movements.

"Please Tsuzuki," the woman pleaded, "Grandma killed papa! She might have killed my aunts! I can't let her get away with that! I just… I just can't!" Anna went quiet as Tsuzuki shushed her. The Shinigami gave her a little smile.

"I'll see what I can do," he whispered. Anna looked at him with big eyes. She was about to speak again, but Tsuzuki covered her mouth softly.

"I will see to it," he insisted, "But you're got to stay calm in return okay?" Tsuzuki wasn't lying; she could see it in his eyes. The woman knew that she was in good hands with him. Anna nodded as she pressed her lips together. Tsuzuki slowly lowered his hand from her mouth and took her hands. Anna's eyes pleaded for justice. They pushed Tsuzuki into the hole even deeper.

"Dig up the Kimoto Yumiko and Kirika cases?" Konoe asked at Ju-Cho-Oh in shock.

"Please sir," Tsuzuki pleaded, "This could be crucial to the case!"

"On what grounds?" the boss asked.

"Haruka might have killed her daughters for their kitsune," Hisoka reasoned. Tsuzuki looked at him in surprise. His partner was originally _against_ this idea.

"This will get you into more trouble," Hisoka warned the older Shinigami.

"But what if she's right?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Do you have any proof?" Hisoka asked. The older Shinigami looked at him with a blank stare. Hisoka sighed and shook his head.

"You idiot," he mumbled to him. However after some begging and pleading, the boy finally agreed to back him up on the proposal. Konoe raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do you have any proof?" he asked.

"Not at this very moment," Hisoka replied, "But we would like to rule out any other possibilities by at least looking over the case files." Konoe looked them stoically.

"Forty-eight hours," he said. "That is all you get!"

"Thank you sir," Tsuzuki replied. They bowed at the boss before leaving his office. The boys didn't speak as they went to the library. Hisoka kept his eyes on his partner the whole time.

_I hope to heaven you're right about this, Tsuzuki!_, he thought.


	3. Whip Scars

_Chapter Three: Whip Scars:_

Anna sat at her desk deep in thought. She agreed with Tsuzuki to assist in stopping her family. However, she hit a sudden wall. Anna was a kitsune-tsukai and possibly had the legendary "mother kitsune." That's where it fell apart. The kitsune was sealed in her soul. Plus, Daisuke never taught her how to control it. Anna sat back and blew on her bangs. Haruka already took her hostage once. She was done playing the victim; time to stand up and fight back! Anna wrote Rihoko and Yoko-chan a note and left Kimoto Manor. In a few minutes, she knocked on Wisteria House's door.

"Coming!" a voice croaked. The door slowly slid open and Emiko peeked outside.

"Oh Anna!" she perked up, "Just the person I want to see!"Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" she asked. Emiko shook her head.

"Never mind!" she said quickly, "Come inside." She grabbed the woman pulled her inside. They sat in the living room moments later.

"So," Emiko said, pressing her hands together, "What brings you by?" Anna bit her lower lip some.

"Tsuzuki convinced the Ju-Cho-Oh to keep me alive to try and stop my family," she began, "I think grandma killed my aunts as well. I want to help out so badly. But…"

"You are essentially useless and you want to break daddy's seal?" Emiko finished.

"Yes!" Anna said quickly, "Can you help me?" The butch demon thought about this.

"You are aware that you are asking me to go against Daisuke's vow, right?" she asked.

"This more important," Anna replied, "Papa would want me to protect myself in any way that I could." Emiko gave her a little smile.

"Well then, come with me!" she said. Emiko stood up and walked out of the room. A curious Anna followed behind.

Emiko led her guest to a black shed in the backyard. Anna looked at it uneasily while She tried her best to hide it. Emiko came to the door and paused.

"You can turn back if you want," the demon spoke up. Anna looked up at her.

"Hm?" she asked.

"I'm giving you the choice of backing out," Emiko went on, "Once you go through this choice, you can't change your mind. So do you want to do this or not? Think hard about this now."

"I've made up my mind," Anna said sternly, "I'm not going to be a victim anymore! I want this!" Emiko pushed open the door.

"Come right in," she said. The women walked into the shed. Anna became confused by the setting around her. This shed looked more like an S&M parlor. Whips and chains covered the walls. Shackles hung from the ceiling. Anna turned to Emiko who was now closing the door.

"Emiko," the woman spoke up.

"Uh-hm," the butch demon replied.

"What does S&M have to do with breaking the seal?" Anna asked. Emiko grinned at her like a hungry wolf.

"Your kitsune is perfectly awake inside of you," she announced, "I can sense it inside of you! She is awake, but yet she can't move." Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's awake?" she asked.

"_She's_ awake," Emiko corrected, "And she can't move."

"Okay, so what does S&M have to do with that?" Anna asked. Emiko moved in close to her.

"In order to get kitsune-sama moving, we have to do physical damage to your body," she summed up. Okay, Anna hadn't expected this at all. She nodded as she grimaced.

"Okay…" her voice trailed out.

"Good!" Emiko said grinned at her, "Take off your dress."

"Wait, what?! Why?!" she cried with wide eyes.

"Just do it," she commanded, grinning. Anna winced and stripped off her red and white sundress. Emiko smirked at the idea of her stripped for this.

"Now, turn your back to me and put your wrists in the shackles," the butch demon ordered in a husky, seductive voice. Anna did so with a grim look on her face. Emiko shackled her wrists in tightly. She went over to the wall of whips and pulled the first one that caught her eye. Emiko turned to her victim.

"Okay, Anna," she yelled, "Grit your teeth!" The demon struck the woman in the back hard with the whip. Anna screamed out loud enough to draw anyone's attention passing by the yard.

"Screaming makes it worse!" Emiko yelled. She struck Anna again with the whip. The poor woman tried not to scream. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to count the lashes in her head. Each one hurt more than last and Emiko wouldn't let up. She seemed to be enjoying it too much to do so. Sweat formed on her brow with each lash.

"Bear… with… me… Anna!" she said in between lashes, "Take it like a bitch!" The lashes grew more painful and Anna panted in misery. Sinking down wasn't an option; the shackles held her standing. She thought that she would die.

The whipping ended in three hours; to Anna, it felt like forever. She panted in misery. Emiko walked over to her and lightly stroked her on the cheek.

"There, there," she whispered, "You'll get used to the pain in a few weeks." Anna didn't response due to her lack of energy and heavy pain. Emiko gently unshackled her wrists and Anna fell to the ground. The demon shook her head.

"Poor lamb," she mumbled. Emiko dragged Anna away to bandage her wounds.


	4. Death Hunters

_Chapter Four: Death Hunters:_

Tokyo changed into its nightwear. Outside the city, she puffed on her cigarette. Anna was here; she could sense it. She turned to her partner.

"I found her!" she said excited. Her partner said nothing in the shadows. She tried her best to keep down her excitement. Twenty-six long years; the chase had taken that long.

"Shall we go?" she asked. When he didn't say a word, she smiled at him. He played her perfect match.

"Okay," she said, "Let's go!" She headed into the city while her partner following behind.

Meanwhile, Emiko and Hotaru monitored Anna's recovery as she slept.

"She looks so peaceful," Hotaru said.

"Yeah," Emiko agreed.

Her girlfriend pouted at her, "Can't believe you tried to break the shield without me!"

The butch demon put up her hands, "Sorry!" Hotaru frowned at her apology. Emiko sighed and gave her a little smile.

"Okay. I'll let you join in tomorrow's session," she added. Hotaru still pouted and frowned at her as if she didn't believe her. Emiko shook her head.

"Okay, I'll make it up to you in bed tonight!" she said in defeat. Hotaru smiled at her.

"Okay!" she perked up. Emiko smiled back and rubbed her on the cheek with her thumb.

"Spoiled!" she said. Hotaru giggled.

"Your fault," the loli demon replied. Both women laughed. Then, another thought intervened.

"Hey Emiko," Hotaru spoke up.

"Mm-hm," her lover replied.

"So how do we… you know… carry out the plan?" the loli demon asked ever so innocently. Emiko grinned at her girlfriend.

"Glad you asked! You get to the boy and I get to the girl, sound good?" she announced.

"Yes ma'am!" Hotaru said with a salute. Emiko giggled and patted her on the head.

"You're so cute," she told her. Hotaru smiled at her like a little girl. They turned back to a sleeping Anna on the bed in their guest room. The butch demon rubbed on Hotaru's arm.

"You know, I'm turned on by tonight's whipping!" she purred in excitement. The loli demon pulled away and pouted. Emiko frowned when she saw her face.

"Hoto-chan, what's the matter?" she asked. Hotaru looked up at her like a disappointed puppy.

"Still can't believe you did it without me," she complained. Emiko massaged her on the neck while giving her a sweet, sly look.

"Aw, I promise to make it up to you tonight and tomorrow," she whimpered. The loli demon folded her arms across her chest and turned away.

"Make it up to me right now!" she demanded. Emiko blinked her with a lost look on her face.

"Now?" she asked.

"Now!" her girlfriend demanded. She stuck out her tongue at her. Emiko smiled at her wickedly.

"Your wish is my command, my lady!" she said with an elegant bow. Hotaru giggled as her girlfriend kissed her on the lips. The girls kissed all the way to their bedroom for the night.

In the city, she and her partner came into a bar. He didn't understand why she just had to have a drink already, but he didn't voice this. She flagged down the bar tender.

"Eh!" she yelled, "Double sake and fizzy cherry water for my partner! Make it quick!" The bar tender nodded in silence. She sat back in pride. She was a loud and demanding soul; had been ever since before her death in 1977. Her partner learned that in a course of three days with her after they first met. Ever since then, he did everything in his power to stay on her good side. The bar tender came back with their drinks and she drank up right away.

"More!" she yelled. The bar tender calmly served her more. Her partner kept watch over her while he had time with his first drink! She's going to get blink drunk before the night was over. That meant dragging her out of the bar and checking into a motel. It was always the same thing with her on this twenty-six year long hunt. She always drank night after night in any place that served alcohol. Because of her drinking, they had to pick up extra escaped soul hunts to make ends meet. It was lucky that her liver always healed itself by morning. Part of the reason that he himself _never_ drank, this was. By closing time, she had blacked out after her last drink of the night. The bar tender look on with worry.

"Does she need a doctor?" he asked. Her partner shook his head as he held her up.

"Need a taxi?" the bar tender asked. The partner nodded and the bar tender quickly got on the phone. Her partner slowly dragged her out of the bar. He sighed and shook his head at her. All in a day's work really. There is still tomorrow to work things out. Lucky for them both, he was the saner one of the two.

Meanwhile, Hisoka just found a reason to reopen the Kimoto Yumiko and Kirika cases.

"Tsuzuki, look!" he exclaimed as he came across a document from the locked archives.

"Hm?" his partner asked as he looked up from nearly falling asleep on the paper version of the old Eda-Kimoto case files.

"I think you and Anna might be right," Hisoka said in one breath, "Come and look at this!" The older Shinigami quickly snapped awake and hurried over to the computer. He read over the forbidden document. Most of it had been marked out.

"Where did you find this?" Tsuzuki asked as he scrolled down on the screen. Tsuzuki's violet eyes grew wide in shock at the pictures and the uncensored captions under them. He quickly ran to Konoe's office.

"Tsuzuki, wait! The…" Hisoka yelled at him.

"Take it with us!" the older Shinigami yelled back. The boy quickly printed up the document and raced after Tsuzuki. The pretty tent of lies had just been ripped open by old ugly truths and that would start a lingering war of revenge.


	5. Dogs and Bones

_Chapter Five: Dogs and Bones:_

Polices Notes:

_April 25th, 1982, 7:00 a.m._

_Unidentified found in puddle in the woods with contusions to her face, neck, arms, legs, chest, back, and abdomen. Ligature marks on the neck suggest asphyxiation. Head looks beaten in as well. She seems to have survived massive blood loss and the early morning rain storm. Not much is known about Jane Doe except she looks about thirteen with a pink coral bracelet on her left wrist._

_June 2nd, 2009._

Anna came home early the next morning, lied down on the couch, and went to sleep. A couple of hours later, Rihoko came into the living room and spotted her roommate on the couch. The young mother smiled to herself and lightly tapped Anna on the arm.

"Anna," Rihoko whispered, "Ghost-sama!" Anna awoke mumbling.

"What?" she grumbled with an annoyed tone. Rihoko stood back smiling.

"Good morning!" she chirped. Anna looked at her blinking.

"Huh?" she asked, looking around, "What time is it?"

"Close to noon," the young mother answered.

"Huh?" Anna as she looked at the clock on the wall. 11:56 now.

"Damn," she mumbled to herself, "I overslept!"

"Yeah, you okay?" Rihoko asked. Anna turned to Rihoko with a realization in her mind.

"I want a dog," she said. Rihoko stared at her lost.

"Huh?" the young mother asked. Anna quickly grabbed her by the hands.

"I always wanted a dog in life," she said, "But I never got around to getting one. So, can we please get a dog? Please, please!" Rihoko blinked oddly at her.

"Okay…" she said. Anna's face went serene and grateful.

"Thank you," she murmured, bowing her head.

_Where did this come from?_, Rihoko thought still confused by all of this. Never the less, the girls went to the local animal shelter. Anna wore a hat and sunglasses to hide her identity. Rihoko leaned in close to her ear.

"You know what you want?" she asked. Anna shook her head.

"Not yet," she said. They walked into the shelter together. There weren't many people in today. Anna waved at the lady in charge.

"Good afternoon," she said. The woman at the desk rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she mumbled. Anna smiled nervously and began her search. The dogs in the dog section all seemed to cry, "Pick me! Pick me!" to the girls. They all looked so cute, but it was hard to narrow it down to one though.

Then Anna spotted him. A little lone Shiba Inu puppy sat in his cage looking straight at her. He looked about a week old and pretty healthy. "Take me with you!" he seemed to beg. The puppy had stolen her heart.

"Hey Rihoko," Anna called. "Come and look at this little fellow!" The young mother did so. The puppy pouted at her too. Rihoko fell charmed with him.

"So cute!" she chirped.

"I know!" Anna agreed. They stared at the Shiba Inu puppy like two sugar-high fangirls.

"It's his last day with us," the shelter's owner spoke up from her desk. Anna looked up at her with big eyes.

"Why? Is he getting adopted?" she asked in a child-like voice.

"No," the owner said sounding like a demon, "He's going into the incinerator! He's been with us too long!" Panic spread through Anna.

"Come on!" she yelled at Rihoko in a few seconds as she was running away with her new puppy in her arms, "We have to Kobe!"

"Kobe?" Rihoko asked in confusion as she ran after her roommate.

"Kobe was a stuffed dog I used to have back in San Diego!" Anna replied quickly, "I named it after Papa's hometown!"

"Oh," Rihoko said. Both girls kept running until they got home.

Meanwhile, Tsuzuki and Hisoka went to the morgue. They came to the unclaimed section. They needed a warrant to exhume body number 2387. The boys walked up to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" the doctor asked them.

"We need to see the body in locker 2387," Tsuzuki said. The doctor looked at him nervously.

"Why?" he asked.

"We are reopening the Kimoto Kirika case," the older Shinigami replied.

"No one told me!" the doctor said, shaking his head.

"We're keeping this private, sir," Hisoka stepped in with.

"Do you have a warrant?" the old man asked with right hand shaking.

"Right here," Hisoka replied. He showed the doctor the warrant. The old man read over the "official-looking" paper. He looked at them with a pale face.

"Right this way…" he mumbled. Then the doctor walked down the hall and Tsuzuki and Hisoka followed behind. They came to the cold chamber. The doctor showed the boys to section 2387. The doctor looked at them nervously. The boys looked dead serious.

"Open it," Tsuzuki said. The doctor hesitated at first; then he unlocked the drawer and pulled it open. Kimoto Kirika might be lying before them. Hisoka pulled out the forbidden document and looked at the pictures on it.

"Show us her ankles, Doctor," the boy ordered. The boys watched as the doctor nervously drew back the sheet from the girl's feet. Tsuzuki and Hisoka's eyes widened in shock. Burned into the girl's ankles were Eda-Kimoto, bear, and a tiny flower.

"It's her!" Tsuzuki whispered. The body before them was Kimoto Kirika. She had been a victim of her own family. Now, Ju-Cho-Oh had a legit case on their hands.

That evening, Tsuzuki told Anna everything in the new case so far. She sat back on her futon singing, "Don't Dream it's Over" by Crowded House is English. Tsuzuki sat down beside of her. This was going to take a while, he could tell. However, Tsuzuki noticed something new in the room. Kobe was playing with his little blanket in his bed.

"And who's your friend?" he asked. Anna quickly came back to earth.

"Huh?" she asked as she looked at the little puppy.

"Oh," she said with a smile on her face, "That's Kobe. I got him from the shelter today. I woke up this morning and wanted a dog. So, Rihoko and I got him."

"I see," Tsuzuki said. They turned back to the little Shiba Inu puppy playing with his blanket in the corner.


	6. Lucy's Drama

_Chapter Six: Lucy's Drama:_

However, the sweet moment got interrupted by a pounding on the door.

"Who is that?" Tsuzuki asked, startled.

"Rihoko has a night class tonight," Anna replied.

"Hisoka's at Ju-Cho-oh," Tsuzuki said. They leapt up and hurried to the door. Tsuzuki got out his fuda and Anna got a broom. They crept over to the door and the Shinigami listened closely.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Lucy!" a voice slurred on the other side.

_Oh!_, they thought in distress. Yet, confusion came into Tsuzuki's mind. What is Lucy doing _here _at Kimoto Manor? The Shinigami opened the door as he and Anna lowered their weapons. Lucy stood on the other side looking like a cross between Hell and a streetwalker. Tsuzuki looked at her oddly.

"What are you doing here, Lucy?" he asked.

"I need a drink!" Lucy announced. She walked inside as if it was her own house.

"Come right in, why don't ya?" Anna asked sarcastically. She and Tsuzuki followed behind.

"So what you got here?" Lucy asked aloud as she looked in the fringe.

"We _have_ a little wine," Anna corrected sternly, "But it's not mine; it's my roommate's. You'll have to ask her when she gets home!" Lucy stopped listening after "wine" as a smile came onto her face when she saw the half-empty bottle.

"Good enough!" she said. Lucy pulled out the wine and shut the fringe.

Soon, all three of them sat in the living room. Lucy drank her wine in delight. Tsuzuki and Anna watched her nervously. The woman leaned over to the Shinigami.

"How do you we get her out of here?" she whispered. Tsuzuki shrugged.

"You tell me," he whispered back. Lucy finished her wine.

"Ah!" she said aloud, "That was great!" The slutty Goth looked at her hosts. Tsuzuki blinked at her.

"Why are you here?" he asked, "How did you find me?" Lucy grinned at him like a Cheshire cat.

"I followed you!" she bragged.

"What?" the Shinigami asked with a blank look on his face.

"I had just come back from a lousy date when I spotted you and Hisoka leaving the morgue. I felt down and wanted to talk to you! So I followed you all the way to Barbie's house here," the S&M freak explained as a matter of fact. Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"Barbie?" she questioned. Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, you heard me right, Barbie!" she said aloud. Anna glared at her crossly.

"Why are you here?" Tsuzuki asked Lucy again. The slutty Goth grinned at him.

"I want to bitch to somebody," she complained.

"About what?" the Shinigami asked. Lucy sat up on the couch and set down her glass. She drew out another cigarette and put it in her mouth. Lucy drew out her lighter to light it up.

"No, don't," Anna said quickly. Lucy looked up at her sternly.

"And why not?" she asked.

"My roommate has a child and we have a sixteen-year-old boarder here," the other woman complained. Lucy rolled her eyes and frowned.

"Fine," she grumbled. Lucy put away her cigarette and looked over at the pair. "Get me some beer, then!" she commanded.

"Fine," Anna grumbled. She got up and went into the kitchen. _Anything to get rid of her for the night!_, she reasoned in her head. Once Anna had gone, Lucy turned to Tsuzuki.

"Now, about my date!" she said. The Shinigami tried to keep a positive face on the whole time. Something told him she was going to make him listen no matter what.

"Okay," Tsuzuki said. "What happened?"

"You know that guy at that tattoo parlor's son I was wild about?" Lucy asked.

"Vaguely…" he mumbled. The Goth sighed and shook her head.

"Slender guy with the short jet black hair, piercing blue eyes, and the lower lip ring; that guy? Ring any bells?" she pressed

"Not really," the Shinigami said with a slight shrug.

"You're hopeless," she groaned. A sweat drop formed on Tsuzuki head.

"I can't keep track of your boyfriends?!" he complained.

"Anyway," she went on, "I finally got him! I seduced him to Neko Slut tonight. After a few drinks, we left to my favorite love hotel, if you know what I mean!" Lucy grinned and winked at him. Tsuzuki winced, but kept the discomfort down.

"So what happened?" he asked. Lucy frowned at him.

"We got up to the room. I went into the bathroom to change down to my sexy wear, you know?" she added to her story.

"And?" Tsuzuki asked.

"I get out of the bathroom and the idiot it passed out drunk on the bed! Out cold! Turns out, he got nervous and started drinking up all of the contents of the mini-bar! The nerve of that jackass! The nerve!" Lucy complained aloud. Tsuzuki nodded.

"Yeah, that's pretty bad," he said trying to humor her.

"Awful! I was horny and wanted to play! The worst part was that it was LIMP! LIMP! FUCKING LIMP!" she screamed.

"Shhh! Not so loud! Yoko-chan and Seita are sleeping!" Anna hissed from the kitchen. Lucy calmed down and pushed some hair behind her ear.

"Anyway, I tried to wake up sleeping beauty, but to no avail. So, I put him to bed, peed in his open mouth, and left. Then, I wondered around the city some and found you," she summed up. Tsuzuki nodded.

"I see…" he said, nodding. Lucy played with her silver skull necklace.

"Such a shame," she said to no one in particular, "He looked like he could be a tiger in bed. He turned out to be a pussy cat! What a letdown!"

"Yeah, I know," Tsuzuki said as he looked for an escape. Lucy put her hand on his knee. The Shinigami looked up startled. She had a hungry look in her eyes. Tsuzuki began to panic.

"Uh…" he said. "What are you doing?" The slutty Goth grinned at him.

"They're all no good!" she said. "I want someone like… like… you!" Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm going to hope that's the alcohol talking," he said.

"Awww cone on," Lucy cooed, "Don't be shy Tsuzuki! You know you want it as much as I do!"

"No, I don't," Tsuzuki said quickly. Lucy didn't listen.

"This is going to be so good!" she said. The woman leaned in close and tried to kiss Tsuzuki on the lips. The Shinigami hated being left with Lucy after she had a bad date when she was drunk and horny.

However, he was saved when they heard someone clear their throat. Lucy and Tsuzuki quickly looked up. Anna stood in the living room with beer in her hands.

"Well…" she said, "This is rather…" Lucy perked up quickly.

"Beer!" she cheered. The drunken slutty Goth ran over to Anna and took the beer from her. Lucy drank up until she passed out on the couch. Tsuzuki breathed out relived. Anna herself looked uncertain.

"Uh…" she said, "Now what?" A sweat drop formed on Tsuzuki's head.

"I don't know…" he mumbled. Both looked at the black-clad hopeless mess sleeping before them.


	7. His Suspicion

_Chapter Seven: His Suspicion:_

_March 18th, 1983._

Daisuke sat on Kato's front porch alone in the night lost in his thoughts. So much had happened to him in the past year. He came back to earth when he heard the door shut behind him. The boy looked up to see Kato looking back at him.

"Couldn't sleep?" the former priest asked.

"No," the boy said, shaking his head.

"Ah," the older man said. Daisuke turned back to the view. Kato sat down with him.

"How Anna-chan?" Daisuke asked.

"Sleeping," Kato replied.

"That's good," the boy said. They looked at the sky in silence. Kato looked on at his house guest. The question plagued him for weeks.

"Daisuke," the former priest said in a hushed tone. The boy didn't look up.

"Uh-hm?" he asked.

"Why are you here, if you don't mind me asking?" Kato came out with the burning question on his mind. Daisuke looked over at him. Kato studied his face. Daisuke had no emotion on what so ever.

"Why am I here?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Kato replied, nodding.

"Heh," Daisuke answered. He paused for a moment. "Fine," he said. "I'll tell you why."

_June 2nd, 2009._

A thought crossed Tsuzuki's mind. "Hey Anna," he said. The woman looked up at him from watching the sleeping drunk woman on the couch.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Do you think Daisuke knew that Haruka killed his sisters?" Tsuzuki asked. Anna thought about this question.

"I'm not sure," she said, "Papa never talked about grandma or the rest of the family."

"Hm," Tsuzuki replied before he came up with another thought. "Think it's on his tapes?" the Shinigami asked.

"Dunno," Anna replied, "It might. Should we see?" Tsuzuki looked a bit uneasy.

"What about… you know…" he began to say as he motioned at Lucy. The drunken slutty Goth looked as if she would be gone for a quite a while now.

"Leave her," Anna said with a shrug.

"You sure?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"Yeah," the woman told him, "Not like she's going anywhere for the night."

"True," Tsuzuki replied with a nod.

"Shall we go to the tapes?" Anna asked.

"Alright," Tsuzuki replied. Anna went back into her room. The Shinigami took one more look at Lucy and shook his head. This was how Lucy spent her nights when her dates went down the toilet.

_Oh Lucy_, Tsuzuki thought. He covered her with the blanket and followed Anna down the hall. The woman had already set up the tape recorder as she waited for him on the futon.

"You ready to do this?" she asked.

"Yes," Tsuzuki said. Anna drew in a breath and pressed play.

Tape Entry # 14:

March 18th, 1983.

My name is Kimoto Daisuke. I'm eighteen years old and a single dad. I can tell Kato-san is wondering why Anna-chan and I are in his house; I can see it in his eyes. Could I tell him the truth? _Should_ I tell him the truth?

_He paused on the tape._

I don't think Kato-san would believe me. At least I can say it here. So, here goes.

_He paused again on the tape._

I think my mother killed my sisters; I know that she did. I know how she and my brothers are. I'm not surprised that they would stoop so low! I don't know the exact details just yet, but all I know is this:

When Yumiko vanished, I asked mom what happened to her. She said that Yumiko had run away; I suspected that she was lying. When Kirika vanished, I asked mom what happened to her. She said that Kirika had run away; I _knew_ she was lying.

End of Tape Entry #14

Tsuzuki and Anna sat in the dark silence. Daisuke himself suspected that his own mother killed her two daughters. Only questions left were where was Yumiko's body and how did the girls die?


	8. Cat of Nine Tails

_Chapter Eight: Cat of Nine Tails:_

Rihoko made it home the next morning and walked into the living room. The young mother leapt up when she heard loud snoring from the couch. She saw Lucy passed out on her stomach. Confusion rushed onto her face as Rihoko slowly approached Lucy and gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey," she whispered, "Hey, hey, hey." Lucy jerked her head upwards. She stared on at Rihoko through blood-shot eyes. The young mother blinked at her.

"Uh… who are you?" she asked. Lucy stared at her slightly confused.

"Who are you?" she asked back.

"I'm Rihoko, Anna's roommate. Who are you?" the other woman answered her. Lucy sat up, blinking.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I live here… with Anna, my daughter, and a lodger. Who are you?" Rihoko answered her, tilting her head. Lucy looked around in the dimly-lit room.

"Where's Barbie and Tsuzuki at?" she asked. Rihoko really looked puzzled now.

"Huh?" the young mother asked, blinking.

"You know, Barbie and Tsuzuki!" Lucy pressed. Rihoko blinked again.

"No… I know who Tsuzuki is, but who's Barbie?" she responded, missing the whole boat. Lucy became stressed through her headache.

"You know, Barbie…" she said, trying to spark something in the other woman's mind. Rihoko slowly shook her head.

"No…" she replied. Lucy sighed aloud as she saw that this was going nowhere.

"Your roommate!" she yelled at last. The light bulb finally lit up in Rihoko's head.

"Oh! You mean Anna!" she said.

"Yes, her! Now where are she and Tsuzuki?" Lucy asked in distress.

"Out," Rihoko said, looking around. Lucy threw back the blanket at that answer.

"Out? What do you mean out? Out where?" she asked. Rihoko shrugged.

"I don't know, just out…" she said slowly.

"Out as in together out?" the Goth woman asked in her face.

"How should I know? I just got home and saw the note on the door!" Rihoko yelped. Lucy blinked again.

"Note?" she asked. Rihoko showed it to her and Lucy took the paper and read it.

"They're gone," the Goth muttered. Rihoko nodded.

"I know," she told her.

Meanwhile at the S&M shed at Wisteria House, Anna, Hotaru, and Emiko were preparing for another session.

"Ditch the shirt!" she commanded with a grin. Anna grimaced at first, but complied. Her black Rolling Stones t-shirt hit the ground. Hotaru watched grinning as she saw Anna's pink and white bra.

"Do you want my skirt too?" their victim asked. Emiko smirked at her.

"If you want to…" she suggested. Anna started to take off her short tan skirt but froze as she narrowed her eyes.

_They're enjoying this_, the woman thought. Emiko gave her a naughty grin.

"Get into position," she ordered. The demons took it all in delight as Anna slowly did so. Emiko turned to her girlfriend.

"What whip should I use today?" she asked. The loli demon thought about that for a moment. A smirk came onto her face.

"Cat of nine tails!" she chirped. Anna froze up after she heard those words. Emiko smiled and patted Hotaru on the head.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Hotaru cheered as she nodded. Her girlfriend kissed her on the nose.

"Okay then," she said, "As you wish!" Hotaru giggled as Emiko kissed her again. The butch demon got up off the black chest and walked over to the wall. She pulled off the good old cat of nine tails and walked over to Anna. The target tightly shut her eyes to the coming pain. Emiko smirked at her.

"Grit your teeth!" she commanded. Anna nodded and Emiko took the first lash. The target tried not to scream out. This lasted for about ten seconds. The pain kicked in her brain and Anna yelped out loud.

"Take it like a bitch!" the demon yelled.

"Yeah!" Hotaru encouraged. Anna breathed in for more and Emiko whipped her again. The woman's breathing sped up as the lashes got worse. Hotaru felt herself getting wet in her white lacy panties. The action and sounds heightened the experience. She felt like she was watching a spicy lesbian porno. Hotaru panted like mad as her heart raced.

Emiko sped up with the whip on her target's back. Anna tried her to keep conscious. The pain had become beyond unbearable. It wouldn't be long until she felt nothing. The pain could take over her whole body and numb it completely. And then what; die soulless?

No, Anna couldn't give up to a simple whipping to death. She had to take vengeance for Daisuke, Yumiko, and Kirika. If that meant taking a whipping to free her powers, alright then! Anna toughened up quick. Emiko grinned at the new challenge.

"You had me worried for a moment there, bitch!" she barked, "I thought you would just spoil everything by passing out on me! Now, I'll have more fun!" She lashed like a madwoman with more force behind the whipping. Anna gritted her teeth tighter with the pain.

_I can take this!_, she thought. The buzzed rang after twenty minutes. Emiko stepped back, panting. Anna breathed out heavily as Hotaru clapped overjoyed.

"Yay!" she cheered, "Best show ever!" Emiko smiled and bowed.

"Thanks," she said, "There will be an after party later tonight." Hotaru squealed in delight.

"Ooo; that would be great!" she chirped. Emiko proudly laughed aloud. Anna softly sighed to herself.

_I knew it! She's using this as an excuse to get her and her girlfriend off at my expensive_, she thought with a sweat drop on her head.


	9. The Party Bitch

_Chapter Nine: The Party Bitch:_

Later that night, Lucy went out to party at club Vanilla. This place was popular in Tokyo; many singles came here for a date. Lucy felt horny again and came out here, but instead she gained a new party buddy. She sat at the bar scanning the club. Native and foreigner had no line between them as they partied the night away. This club gave a discount to foreigners. Because of that, Lucy got the best of both worlds.

Suddenly, the Goth noticed someone sitting next to her. She slowly let her eyes trail to her left. A woman sat next to Lucy; she clearly looked like a foreigner. How black women were there in Japan? Lucy just had to stare. This wasn't a twig sitting next to her; she looked pretty healthy, in fact. She had a nice profile with her full caramel-mocha cheeks. The gold dangly earrings and stud diamond earring in her top right ear blended in with her deep brown skin. Her plump lips and a nice chin completed the whole seductive black woman image. Lucy studied her closer.

"Any reason why you're staring at me?" the woman questioned in sharp English. Lucy sat back startled.

"No reason, it's just that it's…" she began in defense. The woman whipped around to the Goth. She looked like a star from the seventies with her light caramel and blackish-brown hair in a wild, wavy afro. Her face looked full and lovely in full view. Deep chestnut brown eyes closed up in red-blooded package before her. The woman raised an eyebrow at Lucy.

"Rare to see a black person in Japan?" she asked. The Goth nodded.

"Yeah," she said. The woman finished her drink.

"I see," she replied. Lucy gave her a little smile and held out her hand.

"Lucy Fisher," she said. The other woman smiled at her.

"Stella Craig," she replied as they shook hands.

"Out for a date or a good time?" Lucy asked.

"Both!" Stella answered with a grin.

"You're a chick after my heart!" the Goth said smirking. Someone suddenly cleared their throat at them. Lucy and Stella looked up to the bar tender gazing at them in a charming way. He looked close to their age and rather attractive. The women smiled at him as if they were hungry.

"Yes?" Stella asked.

"Those guys at other end want to buy you ladies a drink," he said. Stella and Lucy looked up at the direction he was pointing in and spotted two equally cute guys waving at them. The women turned to each other smiling wickedly.

"Well now," Stella spoke up, "Our friend has put us in a difficult position."

"Should we say hello to the cuties or party with our new friend here?" Lucy purposed. The bar tender looked at them surprised.

"Me?" he asked.

"Why not? You're pretty cute yourself," Stella said, shrugging. The bar tender blushed.

"Uh… Really?" he asked rather beside himself.

"Yeah," Lucy cut in, "You're really hot!" Their friend mouthed "wow" at that compliment. The women leaned in close to him.

"Hang out with us and them!" Stella coaxed him. The bar tender became nervous.

"But… I'm still working…" he said moving his eyes around nervously. Stella smirked at him in a hungry way.

"It's okay, baby. You can hang out with us after work. Could be fun! What do say?" she offered him as she lightly stroked him on the hand. The bar tender hesitated at the women grinning as they waited for his answer.

"That was easy!" Lucy said outside of the club.

"I know, right?" Stella said, "Three cute guys in one night! Mmm, girl! We're on fire!"

"Yeah," Lucy agreed. Both party girls laughed. The Goth woman then came up with a great idea.

"Hey," she said, "We should do this again sometime." Stella grinned at her new best friend.

"Sure," she replied.

"Sweet!" Lucy said grinning.

"Now let's go show our boys a good time!" Stella said as she patted Lucy on the back.

"Fuck yeah," the other woman replied. The women headed over to their new "friends" waiting at the curb.


	10. Suggestive Crush

_Chapter Ten: Suggestive Crush:_

Emiko stayed and monitored Anna through the night. The butch demon cared for her victim's wounds.

"You're good at this," the whip doll said as she lied on her stomach on the guest bed, "Were you a nurse in life?"

"I took care of the injured girls in the detention hall of St. Mary's School for Girls when they got into fights," Emiko answered as she opened the peroxide bottle.

"You were in a Catholic school?" Anna asked as she lifted her head in curiosity. Emiko waved off her question.

"Bah! Long boring story," she told her.

"Ah," her victim said, nodding. Emiko poured the peroxide onto the cotton ball.

"Okay, this will sting a bit," the butch demon warned. Anna kind of laughed.

"Oh believe me," she said, "That's going to be nothing compared to the session today!"

"Just saying," the master said. She swept the peroxide all over Anna's back. The other woman winced at first.

"Told you," Emiko said.

"I can take it!" Anna said through clinched teeth, "It has to be done anyway."

"True…" she replied as she shrugged. Emiko swept the cotton ball over Anna's back again. By this time, the woman had gotten used to the pain. As she treated Anna's wounds, Emiko felt opportunity take over her. She finished up with the peroxide.

"Tell me something, Anna," she spoke up, "I just have to ask."

"Hm?" Anna asked as she looked up at him. Emiko blew over the lashes.

"What is your relationship with Tsuzuki?" she asked. Anna lifted her head with an odd look on her face.

"Why?" she asked blinking at her.

"Just curious," the butch demon said in a fake innocence. Anna thought about that for a moment.

"Don't know," she replied.

"What do you mean?" Emiko asked in a serious tone. Anna shrugged as she tried to sit up.

"We met when he and Hisoka were investigating papa's murder," she explained, "Tsuzuki stayed with me for the rest of the night. I was sixteen at the time. It's all a bit hazy to me now because I was really emotional at the time. I did develop a small crush on him. He kissed me on the lips when it started to rain." That really took Emiko's attention to new highs.

"He kissed you before?" she asked now intrigued.

"It was a little kiss," Anna tried to downplay.

"But it was your first, right?" the butch demon, leaning in to her face.

"Yes," the other woman admitted as she looked away, blushing. Emiko grinned to herself. Tsuzuki and Anna had shared a kiss before. Plus she had a small crush on Tsuzuki that night ten years ago. Good to know where they stood. Emiko sat back in the chair next to the bed.

"A small crush, huh?" she asked in thought. Anna nodded as a faint glow washed over her face.

"Yeah, but in the day, I got shipped off to San Diego and nothing ever became of my crush on Tsuzuki," she told the butch demon.

"But you must have thought of him all of those ten years," Emiko pressed. Anna took a minute to think about that.

"I did from time to time," she confessed. Emiko paced her thoughts before taking it to another level.

"I have one more thing before I let you sleep," the butch demon went on.

"Yes?" Anna asked. Emiko didn't blink at all.

"Do you think you and Tsuzuki could have an intimate relationship, if that was possible?" she dove in. The demon waited for the other woman's response. She expected strong denial in the initial stage of this plan, but Anna lied back down and thought about that. Emiko observed her closely. The other woman seemed to be staring out into her thoughts.

"I don't know…" her voice trailed off. Emiko smiled at the response. She had expected Anna to get defensive, but uncertainty was much better. The plan just needed a little more pushing into the path of the romantic-intimate commitment. Right now however, Anna needed some rest from today's session. Emiko's mischief disappeared behind genuine warmth.

"We'll talk later," she said, "Get some sleep now."

"Right…" Anna mumbled wither her eyes closed and slowly drifted off to sleep. The butch demon smiled at her friend. Emiko did step one of her half of the plain. She would have to wait for Hotaru to start on Tsuzuki before taking the next step with Anna. The wait should let the woman at least think about the concept of hooking up with Tsuzuki. By then, Hotaru would have done her first step.

Emiko forced herself to calm down so not to wake up Anna. Time to "check on" Hoto-chan again! Emiko quietly got up and walked across the hall to her and Hotaru's room.


	11. Death with Desire

_Chapter Eleven: Death with Desire:_

They came further into the city. She turned to him grinning. "Baby, do you know why I'm happy today?" she asked. He shook his head. She smiled and giggled.

"I found her!" she announced, "I have found the Kimoto girl!" She grabbed him be the hands. "This is great! For years, that girl was always in my grasp, but she always got away! Not this time!" She threw back her short, deep silver-brown ponytails in the wind. The grin deepened on her face like a maniac.

"She won't get away this time! I've got her and that dimwit Shinigami! Fuck yeah! This is the best day ever!" she shouted. A sweat drop formed on his head as he said nothing. She squeezed his hands tightly.

"Come on, let's go!" she yelled. She dragged him deeper into the city.

On the other side of Tokyo, Hotaru waited at the bakery. She looked at the clock again. Ten a.m. already, Tsuzuki should be here right now. The loli demon bit her lip. She and Emiko spent all of yesterday studying their targets. They learned that the Shinigami always came to this bakery, Kayoko's, every day at ten. Emiko did step one of her part. Now, Hotaru had to do her first step. She looked out into the crowd again.

Finally, she spotted Tsuzuki coming towards her. Hotaru's eyes lit up.

_Yes!_, she thought, _He's here!_ The loli demon straightened herself up. Tsuzuki made it over to her. The demon grinned sweetly and stepped out in front of him.

"Tsuzuki-san!" she chirped, "So nice to see you again!" The Shinigami raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hotaru? What are you here and where is Emiko?" he asked.

"Working and I came to see you, silly!" the loli demon told him as she patted him on the arm. The Shinigami looked confused.

"Why?" he asked in suspicion. Hotaru smiled at him like a sweet little angel.

"Let's take a walk, shall we?" she offered.

"But, I want to get my cake…" the Shinigami whimpered.

"Get it and come on!" she pushed him. Her enthusiasm made him worry. He had come to learn that Hotaru and her girlfriend were always plotting something; they were demons after all. The Shinigami still didn't really trust them.

"What are you waiting for?" Hotaru pushed, grinning, "Get your cake and come on!"

"Okay, okay," Tsuzuki said with a sweat drop on his head, "I'm going!" Hotaru watched him do so. Tsuzuki felt like Tatsumi was angry and stressed with after going over the budget on pies and cakes while on a case. It took a minute to get the cake that he wanted. Hotaru waited patiently the whole time with a smile plastered to her face. The Shinigami trembled when he saw Hotaru again. The loli demon clapped her hands together when her target came back out.

"Good! Let's go!" she cheered with a little jump.

"Fine, if we have to," Tsuzuki sighed in defeat.

"Yay, let's go!" Hotaru cheered. She grabbed Tsuzuki by the arm and dragged him down the street.

"Slow down!" her target cried. Hotaru didn't listen as she dragged him further away from his favorite bakery. When they crossed the street and turned the corner near Renkoji Temple, the Shinigami couldn't hold back anymore.

"What is this all about?" he demanded as he tried to pull away from her grasp. Hotaru smirked to herself as she came to a complete stop.

"What are your feelings for Anna?" she asked out right. Tsuzuki looked at her with a blank look on his face.

"What?" he asked in a small voice. Hotaru turned around with her focus locked only on him.

"Why are you keeping her alive ready?" she asked, "I mean, why go through the trouble? Anna must mean so much for you to risk nearly getting fired; it can't be money or a promotion." She pointed a finger at him, "So I narrowed it down to revenge or love. I already rule out revenge because you have no personal ties to the Eda-Kimoto. With that in mind, I figured it's got to be love; am I right?" Tsuzuki stood there silent; it didn't reach him until now. Why was he risking his job each day for this case? Did he _love_ Anna and didn't realize it until now? How could he even _begin_ to answer that one? Tsuzuki looked away and pressed his lips together.

"Am I right?" she asked again.

"Uh… well…" Tsuzuki mumbled.

"Hey! I'm up here, not anywhere else," the loli demon spoke up, "Look at me and answer! It's not that hard; am I right or wrong? Come on, let's go!" Tsuzuki bit his lower lip. This pushy little thing wanted an answer right now. If only there could be…

Suddenly, Tsuzuki jerked his head to look across the street when something caught his attention. Hotaru stamped her foot and puffed up her cheeks.

"Hey! Focus on me!" she snapped.

"Hotaru," Tsuzuki spoke up. The demon's demeanor changed when she noticed his tone.

"Hm?" she asked, tilting her head.

"How long have those two have been staring at us?" he whispered in her ear.

"Huh?" Hotaru asked looked across the street. Two kids about eighteen years old stood on the sidewalk staring at them. The girl stared intently while the boy next to her looked neutral. Tsuzuki and Hotaru built up into attack mode in their minds.

"They're not human," the demon whispered.

"I know," Tsuzuki said back.

"So what shall we do?" Hotaru asked. Tsuzuki took a quick second.

"Follow them," he offered in a low voice. Hotaru gave him a funny look.

"What?" she asked him.

"You got anything better?" the Shinigami whispered. Hotaru thought about this and nodded.

"Good point," she whispered. The pair crossed the busy street to the other pair. She looked up and smiled.

"Here they come!" she said as if she was going to leap out of her shoes. She stepped forward as Tsuzuki and Hotaru raced over to them.


	12. Desire with Death

_Chapter Twelve: Desire with Death:_

She smiled when Tsuzuki and Hotaru made it to them.

"Hello," she said in fake sweetness as she bowed at them. Tsuzuki and Hotaru looked her up and down. This girl looked like a skinny little thing with her ponytails hanging behind her ears. Her puffed up chest through her tight black t-shirt told the world she was definitely female. Her black tight jeans did the same with her hips as the black and silver belt held them in place. The grey sandals and black nails completed her Gothic look. The boy behind her looked nicer with his short, messy white hair. His soft grey eyes contrasted against her tough blood red wine ones. In his simple jeans and grey t-shirt, he looked more genteel than his partner. Tsuzuki looked at them sharply.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked in a matching tone. She stepped in front of the boy.

"I am Thanatos and this is my partner, Eros," this girl introduced herself as she pointed to herself and at the boy behind her. He didn't speak; instead he gave the Shinigami and demon a polite bow.

"He doesn't talk much, but he's good," she brushed off, "We are soul bounty hunters." Tsuzuki and Hotaru blinked at her.

"Huh?" they asked. A sweat drop formed on Thanatos' head.

"Why do I always have to explain myself, Eros?" she asked the boy. He only shrugged and shook his head.

"Anyway," she went on with a sigh, "We are bounty hunters for souls."

"Okay," Tsuzuki replied slowly, "But I'm a Shinigami and she's a demon. Why are you following us?" Thanatos grinned at them.

"Good question!" she boomed. The hunter trained her eyes dead on Tsuzuki. She looked around a bit and leaned in close.

"You're going to lead me right to the Kimoto girl," Thanatos whispered loudly. Tsuzuki's eyes widened in alarm.

"You mean… Anna?" he force out. Thanatos backed up with hands on her hips.

"Why yes," she said, "I have been stalking her for years. She has always eluded death. In fact, I would've had her last month after she was murdered. Her soul would have made the payday of my life, but no! You just had to come along and resurrect that Kimoto girl. Now, you have put me through more work! Thank you very much!" The hunter shook her short ponytails again.

"But not to worry," she perked up, "It just makes it worth the hunt. Now be a good boy and hand over the Kimoto girl and we'll be on our way." Tsuzuki toughened up.

"What if I say no?" he challenged. Thanatos' grin widened.

"Then, we'll just have to take her from you!" she said boldly. The Shinigami bounty hunter turned to Eros.

"Come Eros, we have spoken too much. Let's have a drink!" she announced. Thanatos turned to walk away, but then looked at Tsuzuki and Hotaru.

"We will meet again," she warned, "Next time, I won't be so nice." She walked away into the crowd laughing her head off. Eros turned to the duo and bowed his head as to apologize before following after his partner. Tsuzuki and Hotaru looked in confusion and slight worry. The Shinigami turned to the demon.

"What should we do?" he whispered. Hotaru gave him a little smile.

"Leave it to us!" she chirped, "Emiko-sama, Kazue, Mike, and I will deal with those two! You and the boys just deal with Anna's family." Tsuzuki looked at her in suspicion.

"Why would I let you do that?" he asked.

"Cause," she said, "We all have the same interests in the Eda-Kimoto case and Anna herself. And besides," Hotaru slung her long black ponytails around a bit before talking.

"We want to see how this whole show all turns out!" she said in a serious tone. Tsuzuki gave her a blank stare and blinked at her confused. Hotaru stepped back, smiling.

"Now," she said, "We've got to go. Emiko-sama's wondering where I am now and you still have work to do."

"Huh?" Tsuzuki asked. The Shinigami looked at the clock and panic hit him in the face.

"Oh no!" he yelped, "It's past one now!"

"You better hurry," the loli demon said. She began to walk away but paused.

"Oh Tsuzuki," she spoke up. The Shinigami looked up.

"Hm?" he asked. Hotaru turned to him smiling.

"I haven't forgotten the question!" she said out loud. Tsuzuki's face went pale. _We're back to that again?_, he thought. This time however, Hotaru stuck out her tongue at him.

"Don't worry," she said, "We will continue this conversation later. Until then, think about your answer carefully. Bye-bye!" Hotaru herself disappeared into the crowd. Tsuzuki looked at her blinking.

_What was that all about?_, he thought. The Shinigami remembered that he had work to do.

_Oh crap!_, Tsuzuki thought, _I'm going to be late!_ He hurried back to Meifu to try and prevent that consequence.


	13. My Dear Friend

_Chapter Thirteen: My Dear Friend:_

On his way back to work, Tsuzuki overheard a woman yelling in Japanese with a Southern Californian accent. He looked across the street and found a woman on the phone standing near a street fountain. She looked clearly upset as she paced around, talking. Tsuzuki couldn't help, but to eavesdrop.

"Listen!" the woman yelled, "I don't care if you're back-logged or not! Tell me what you've found on my friend! You'll get around to the case? I don't want to hear that! My friend could be alive and being sold as a whore as we speak! You don't like my tone? Tell me, are all Japanese police this incompetent?" She hung up in and sighed aloud. The woman looked up when she noticed someone staring at her. Tsuzuki looked at her wondering if he should go over or not.

"What?!" she asked, glaring at him. Tsuzuki panicked for a second.

"Uh… I was just walking by!" he said aloud. The Shinigami looked dead-on nervous as the blonde-haired woman narrowed her eyes at him. Finally, she looked away and Tsuzuki relaxed. Suddenly, a thought came into his mind. He walked over to the woman.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked. The American looked up at him and sighed.

"It's these stupid police," she complained.

"Oh?" the Shinigami asked.

"Last month, my best friend was reported dead here in Japan. They said it was suicide," she told him. Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow at her.

"And you don't believe it?" he asked.

"No!" the blonde-haired woman pressed. She trembled all over after shouting that.

"I know she wouldn't," she went on, "Anna's not the type of person to kill herself like that! She's too strong for that!" Tsuzuki looked intrigued.

"Really?" the Shinigami asked.

"Yes," she said, nodding. "That's why I believe something has happened to her! I think she was murdered or sold into prostitution." The woman trembled again. Tsuzuki looked at her in sympathy.

"You were really that close, weren't you?" he asked. His new friend looked up once she managed to calm down.

"Well, almost," she admitted. Tsuzuki looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The woman shrugged her tiny pale shoulders. The Shinigami got a girl look at Anna's best friend as she slumped into sadness. This woman was a skinny Californian girl with her short orange-blonde hair just barely dusting her small shoulders. Her power blue tank top propped up her triple B cups. Her short jean shorts drew attention to her hips and made her long, skinny legs look so pale. His friend's pink flip flops shaped her narrow feet with a silver heart pendant drew attention to her chest. She looked pretty cute in American sense. The woman looked up at him with her deep blue eyes.

"She's a very private person," she answered. Tsuzuki listened on and his friend pushed herself to keep talking.

"Anna always locked herself inside an invisible glass box," she explained, "She's there, but out of reach. It's funny; I have never seen Anna cry, but I could see in her eyes that she was in pain." The American woman smiled and shook her head.

"That girl…" she said aloud, "Anna seemed to be suffering every day, but she wouldn't admit it. Maybe she didn't need to. I saw the loneliness and heartache in her eyes. That's why I dragged her into the photo club." Tsuzuki took it all in; he understood how Anna felt. The man had been lost without Ruka after her death. Since that time, Tsuzuki had slipped into a sea of darkness that led to eight years in the hospital and suicide attempts before his death. Anna and he seemed to share the same loneliness when it was all taken apart.

"I can understand…" he mumbled. His American friend stared at him and then she smiled.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, "I'm Rebecca Campbell, but you can call me Becky."

"Tsuzuki Asato," the Shinigami said back. They bowed after that exchange. The Shinigami looked her amazed.

"You know Japanese manners so well," he said. Becky smiled and nodded.

"I learned from Anna. She is Japanese-American," she told him.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yep; Anna is amazing once you push through her glass box and get to know her," she said in pride. Tsuzuki smiled at her. Hearing all of that made him want to do so.

"What will you do if your friend is dead?" the Shinigami asked in serious tone. Becky shrugged.

"Go home knowing the truth, I guess," she replied.

"But you think she's still alive?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Yep," Becky answered, "That reminds me…" She pulled out her phone to dial the police once more. Tsuzuki sat there in worry and tiny joy. He now had two personal things to do that tied into the Eda-Kimoto case: Get rid of Becky and the other friends before they really discovered the truth and break down Anna's invisible glass to get to know her.


	14. Say Uncle!

_Chapter Fourteen: Say Uncle!:_

_May 20th, 1976: Twenty-three-year-old American business woman found strangled and stabbed to death in hotel parking lot._

_December 25th, 1980: Hostess from Club Pleasure found strangled and stabbed to death in bay._

_July 8th, 1982: Two high school girls found strangled and stabbed to death on Maiko Beach._

_September 10th, 1988: Thirty-seven-year-old nurse found strangled and stabbed to death in Kobe University Hospital's parking lot._

_June 29th, 1991: Two female high school seniors found strangled and stabbed to death in a playground near Suma Rikyu Park._

_February 15th, 1997: Prostitute found hanged and stabbed to death in brothel room in downtown Kobe._

_November 11th, 1999: Twenty-five-year-old nurse found strangled and stabbed to death in Ginko Yuki Nursing Home's parking lot._

_March 6th, 2006: Nineteen-year-old girl found strangled and stabbed to death in Kobe Municipal Arboretum._

_May 7th, 2009: Twenty-six-year-old interpreter found strangled to death on the sidewalk after being thrown out the Peninsula Tokyo Chiyoda window._

_May 20th, 2009: Twenty-one-year-old geisha found strangled and stabbed to death in Inokashira Park._

_June 10th, 2009._

He walked up to Wisteria House's front door. He could sense Anna here and he knew why. _Trying to break daddy's shield, huh?_, he thought with a smirk, _You just keep it entertaining for me, little lamb._ He rang the door bell.

"Coming, sweetheart!" Emiko said in a chipper voice on the other side. He waited with his wire under his shirt. The lamb escaped death last month; this time she wouldn't be so lucky.

Emiko opened the door smiling, "Hoto-chan! What took ya? I thought I would have to send the sear…" She stopped cold when she saw it wasn't Hotaru at the door before her. Instead, a fifty-two-year-old man smirked at her. He looked like Satan in human form. His short black hair was peppered in greys. He still had some sturdy muscle to his body despite his age. The man fit the role of a mob hit man all dressed in black. The black leather gloves completed his look. The butch demon went into attack mode.

"Kimoto Yasuo! What do you want?" she hissed. The old man raised an eyebrow at her as he held back his laughter.

"I'm surprised that a demon still calls me by my real name. I'm usually called the 'Angel Strangler' nowadays among humans and supernatural beings," he said rather cocky, almost bragging even. Emiko grabbed onto her knife in her jeans.

"What do you want, Yasuo?" she asked with gritted teeth.

"Relax, love," the old man smoothed over, "I only came to see my darling niece. Is she here?" Yasuo looked in the house for Anna. Emiko blocked his view.

"Well she's not here!" she barked.

"Liar," he said in a low voice in her ear, "I can smell the lamb's blood. Let me in!" Yasuo tried to push his way into the house. Emiko tried to block him out by pushing her weigh in her body. The butch demon whipped out her knife and aimed at his chest.

"Like hell I will! Piss off!" she yelled.

"Not until I see Anna," Yasuo said with his voice dipped in ice.

"Why? So you can kill her?" she asked.

"Something like that," he replied ever so coolly, "Why do you care?" The butch demon gritted her teeth while not once letting down her guard.

"What's going on, Emiko?" a voice asked behind them. The demon and kitsune-tsukai looked up. Anna wandered into the living room from down the hall. She had just been woken up from some much needed rest after last night's "session." The woman slowly rubbed her eyes and looked up.

"Is Hotaru back ye-?" she asked as she yawned aloud. Anna froze when she saw Yasuo smirking at her. Her blood ran cold as she backed away with fear paralyzing her trim frame. Yasuo resisted snickering at her.

"Hello, my little niece," he said in serpent-like voice. Anna's mouth dropped open. Suddenly, her wrists burned in an icy heat. She screamed aloud as sank to her knees panting. Emiko's eyes widened.

"Anna!" the butch demon yelped as she dashed over to her. The woman winced in pain as she took in slow breaths.

"It's happening again! So cold! Make it stop! It's hurting me!" she pleaded. The butch demon knelt down beside of her friend.

"Let me see your wrists," she ordered her. Anna slowly flipped them up and showed them to her. The Kanji glowed a bright blue as she shut her eyes in deep pain. A deep laughter caught her ears. Anna yanked open her eyes and looked up with Emiko. Yasuo really looked like Satan with the sin in his twisted grin.

"Oh, I see it now!" he cooed, "Even after death baby brother still protects you; how sweet!" Anna's eyes widened with realization as she stared at her uncle.

"It's you!" she screamed, "You're the one who killed me!" Her uncle grinned at her as Emiko stared in shock.

"Yes, my dear!" Yasuo said laughing at her, "I, Kimoto Yasuo, ended your life that night. Would have gone perfectly, but that moron Shinigami just had to intervene." He folded his arms across his chest. "Good for me though," he said taking in the scene before his very eyes, "I get to kill you all over again. I'll enjoy hearing you scream just like your father and aunts!" Anna glared at him in icy pain.

"So you and grandma did kill Yumiko and Kirika?!" she screamed. Her uncle licked his lips, hungry for more blood.

"Those little lambs pleaded for their lives until the very end," he bragged, "Such a beautiful sound they made. Yumiko wasn't as tough as she made herself to be. Boy, did she scream!" The old man leaned in close to his target's face." You'll make the same beautiful sound when I kill you again!" Anna glared at him in rage.

"You bastard!" she shouted as she lunged forward through her pain. Emiko picked up her knife and pointed it at the kitsune-tsukai.

"You will not hurt her!" she growled. Yasuo laughed at the challenge.

"Oh, you're so darling, love, he cooed, "But enough with the games! Lucky for you little lamb, I have no desire to kill you in your current state." Anna glared at him though her excruciating pain in her wrists.

"Any why is that?" she asked as sucked in a mouthful of air.

"Do you know why a cat doesn't kill an injured mouse right away?" her uncle asked as he rose to his feet.

"What's that got to do with anything?!" his niece said as sweat developed on her forehead. Yasuo gave her a cold smile as he patted her on the head.

"Just answer the question," he said in a low voice.

Anna sighed, "Fine, no."

"I'll tell you," Yasuo announced, "If the cat killed that mouse, it wouldn't have anything to play with anymore." His eyes glinted with a new hunger for blood. "If I killed you now, that would be boring," he went on, "I like you strong. So be a good little lamb and break daddy's shield for me. I want _real_ kill!" Yasuo turned to Emiko.

"Emi-love, it would be best for you not to get in the way. Otherwise, I would hate for anything to happen to the ones you love," he warned her. The butch demon clenched her teeth and clutched her knife.

"If you lay a single hand on my Hoto-chan, I'll skin you alive with my own bare hands!" she barked. Yasuo smiled and shook his head.

"You really are amusing to me!" the old man told her, "But, I have to depart now and tell mother what you're up to." He turned to leave, but then Yasuo took one more look at niece. She looked at him with red and pain in her eyes. Yasuo smirked at her misery.

"I would leave you a little something to remember me by, but I already have," he told her, "So, enjoy my little gift some more." He walked away laughing into the hot summer afternoon. Emiko gave him the bird as the door slammed shut.

"Asshole!" she barked. The butch demon turned back to her injured friend. Anna looked up while she breathed in tight pain.

"Call… Tsuzuki!" she forced out. Emiko looked at her confused.

"But your wrists…" she said.

"I'll be fine! Just call him! He has to know who killed me!" Anna yelled in between breaths.

"Right," Emiko said nodding. She ran straight to the phone as Anna sat waiting in pain. Through the mockery and misery was born her new motivation to fight.


	15. Yasuo's Angels

_Chapter Fifteen: Yasuo's Angels:_

Back at Ju-Oh-Cho, the boys were putting the new information together at the board meeting. They had just matched up Kimoto Yasuo to a handful of the killings. It took them about an hour, but they managed to get the timeline correct. Tatsumi ran the projector.

"On May 20th, 1976, Kimoto Yasuo murdered Jennifer Day, his first kill," he stated, "She was an American secretary on a business trip at the time. Day-san also had an affair with her boss. Her body was found in the Dragon Hotel parking lot in the early hours of the morning." He switched to the next slide.

"On December 25th, 1980, Kimoto murdered Triple Pleasure. She was a hostess at Karen's Kitten Kisses Club, a gentleman's club. This became known the "Christmas Day Murder" because of when they found of her at Tokyo Bay." Tatsumi switched to the next slide.

"July 8th, 1982, Endo Aya and Jimbo Hoshi were murdered on Maiko beach. It was estimated they were killed three days prior. Endo was seventeen and Jimbo was sixteen. A fisherman found their bodies when he was docking his boat." He moved to the next slide.

"September 10th, 1988, Yasuo killed Okawa Kimi. She was a nurse at Kobe University Hospital. Okawa was suspected of stealing drugs from the hospital where she worked at the time. Case was later confirmed." He moved to the next slide.

"June 29th, 1991, Kimoto murdered Saji Keiko and Ino Miho, four days before their graduation. Both were seventeen and had prior drug possession charges. The girls also ran away from home constantly." Tatsumi switched to the next slide.

"February 15th, 1997, Kimoto murder Pureshasuenjeru on Valentine's Day. Unlike the previous victims, she was found hanging from the ceiling in the room on the day after. She was a well-know prostitute in Tokyo who suffered from depression." He moved to the next slide.

"November 11th, 1999, Kate Kimi was murdered by Kimoto. She was a nurse at Orange Ginko Yuki Nursing Home in Tokyo. Kate was suspected of stealing from her patients. The case was confirmed after her murder." He moved to the next slide.

"March 6th, 2006, Joshuya Rika was murdered by Kimoto. She was found in Kobe Municipal Arboretum by a group of college students. It was suspected that she had been dead for five days." Tatsumi switched to the next slide.

"May 7th, 2009, Kimoto killed his own niece, Anna. However thanks to Tsuzuki, she is alive because of a Hell Stone." Tsuzuki sat on in uncomfortable silence. He knew that they just wouldn't let it go for a long time. The looks in their eyes warned him as such. However, the matter was a bit excusable now. Tatsumi want to the last slide.

"In the same year," he went on, "Maro Hana was murdered by Kimoto Yasuo. She was local rising geisha who had just left home. This murder had to be a warning to us."

"Most of these women had broken the law in some way," Watari spoke up, "Day-san was having an affair, Triple Pleasure and Pureshasuenjeru were sex workers, Saji and Ino weren't exactly angels with the law, and Okawa and Kate stole from their place of work. Anna of course has the kitsune. But why kill Joshuya, Endo, and Jimbo? They had no criminal records or bad conduct. Not even a late fee."

"Anna told me that Yasuo did help in Yumiko and Kirika's murders," Tsuzuki spoke up. "Maybe… they reminded him of them." Nobody spoke at his suggestion. The Shinigami looked down at the table.

"Could be possible…" he mumbled. Konoe cleared his throat.

"Either way, we have only identified a portion of the kills," he pointed out, "We still have a long way to go." He turned his attention to Tsuzuki and Hisoka.

"Tsuzuki, Kurosaki," he said, "Go back to Kimoto manor. Anna might lure Yasuo to us. When he does arrive again, bring him in to be judged. We can't afford to have any more victims. Do you understand me?" The boys nodded.

"Yes sir," they said. Tsuzuki and Hisoka headed out.


	16. Why Do You Fight?

_Chapter Sixteen: Why Do You Fight?:_

_June 13th, 2009._

Anna began another session with Emiko and Hotaru on that same morning. She stood before them waiting as the butch demon held her girlfriend in her arms. She kissed her on the forehead.

"Babes," she said, "Would you like to take over the training session today?" Hoto-chan's eyes widened as they lit up.

"Really? You mean it?" she almost yelped. Emiko kissed her on the lips. She gently tapped her on the tip of her nose.

"Of course," the butch demon said, "You deserve it after all. You've been so good lately." Hotaru smirked at her.

"Do I get more afterwards?" she asked like a sweet little child. Emiko grinned at her and panted her on the head.

"Do a good job and then we'll talk," she said in a low voice.

"Ooo!" the loli demon squealed aloud. Emiko chuckled at her she played with her girlfriend's left ponytail. Anna rolled her eyes and smiled.

_Oh, how icky!_, she thought half-jokingly. The woman cleared her throat loudly. The demons quickly looked up. Anna shuffled her feet a bit.

"Can we get this over with?" she asked, "You can act all cuddly later, you know?" Hoto-chan giggled at her.

"Patience, Ani! I'll get to you," she cooed, "Don't be fooled by my cute looks. I won't go easy on you. I'm going to whip you like a bitch!" The devilish grin on her face made a sweat drop form on Anna's head.

_I knew she would say something like that!_, she thought as she laughed nervously to herself, _Oh boy!_ Hotaru sat up and shifted her shoulders.

"Strip!" she commanded in a loud voice. Anna made a displeased face, but complied. Her black, white, and yellow sundress hit the floor. Emiko smirked at Anna's cute and flirty black and white bra and panties.

"You always have such pretty underwear," the butch demon spoke up, "I wonder when Tsuzuki will see 'em." Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sorry?" she asked. Emiko smiled at her like a naughty little child.

"You heard me," she said without any shame in her face. Anna's face didn't change as she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I was just hoping that I heard wrong," she said.

"Aw, why? You _do_ like Tsuzuki, don't you?" the butch demon asked her.

Anna's cheeks went bright red. "Well yeah, but…"

Emiko raised an eyebrow at her, "But what?"

The other woman looked down at her feet, "Well…" Hotaru cleared her throat. Both women looked up.

"Oh, sorry," Emiko said. Hotaru gave her a little nod.

"Thank you," the loli demon said. She turned to Anna.

"Position yourself," she commanded her. Anna followed commands as she kept on a brave face. Hotaru rose to her feet and walked over to the wall of whips. The loli demon grabbed the grandmother of all cat-o'-nine-tails. Anna's eyes grew wide in shock when she saw it.

_Oh shit! She wasn't kidding, was she?_, the kitsune-tsukai thought. Hoto-chan grinned at her.

"The little whips aren't doing the job anymore," she explained, "Your dad sure put one hell of a shield inside of you. It's much stronger than we expected. I'm not sure if we can even break it all the way." Anna looked at her with big eyes.

"You can't break it all the way?" she asked. Hotaru shook her head.

"But we can deepen the cracks enough the kitsune to move about freely," she explained. Anna sighed; not what she wanted to hear, but still…

Hotaru picked up the whip, "Now, grit your teeth hard." Anna nodded and turned forward. Hoto-chan grinned and took the first lash. The kitsune-tsukai screamed in shock at such pain and force.

"Take it like a bitch, Anna!" Emiko yelled from the couch.

"Yeah!" her girlfriend shouted, "Take it like a bitch!" Anna grimaced for a moment.

_When Hotaru says that, it's not as effective as Emiko shouting that at me_, she thought. The loli demon whipped her again and the victim gasped aloud at the sudden pain. Hotaru grinned at the reaction.

"Yes! Scream for me, slut!" she yelled. Anna looked at her, startled.

"Excuse me?" she asked. Hotaru giggled as she whipped her again.

"Sorry, got into it a little too much," the loli demon said.

"Right…" Anna mumbled under her breath. Hotaru whipped her again. Anna tried not to scream, but it was inevitable. Emiko watched grinning and licking her lips. Who knew Anna had the body for this type of thing? The butch demon found herself a bit jealous of Tsuzuki. He would soon come to enjoy Anna's hot little body in bed. That was fine; Emiko had Hotaru. The loli demon was all she could handle. Suddenly, Hotaru couldn't hold back any longer.

"Tell me. Why are you doing this?" she asked. Anna looked over at her.

"Huh?" the woman asked. One of the tails cut her cheek. Hotaru drew back some.

"Why are you taking these whippings?" the loli demon asked. Anna stared at her in pain.

"What?" she asked.

"Why are you taking these whippings?" Hotaru asked again.

"Because I need to get stronger!" Anna yelled.

"Why?" the loli demon asked.

"I want to fight!" the bottom shouted. Hotaru whipped her once again.

"Why? Why do you fight? Tell me why! Why?" she asked as another three lashes came. Anna gritted her teeth hard.

"To protect myself against my family!" she cried. Hotaru whipped her again.

"No! I'm not talking about that!" the top barked, "You've been fighting since Daisuke died! You have not stopped fighting since! Now tell me why! Why do you fight? Why? Why?" Hotaru whipped Anna fifty-seven times. The kitsune-tsukai shut her eyes in pain as she breathed in hard.

"I-I-I don't know! I don't know! I don't know!" she yelped. Hotaru whipped her once more.

"That's not good enough!" she snapped. Hotaru picked up the pace and force with the lashes. Anna couldn't even speak anymore. The interrogation had worn her down for the night. In three hours, a curtain of black veiled over her eyes. Emiko noticed the change around that time.

"Hoto-chan, stop!" she said. Her girlfriend paused and looked up.

"Hm?" she asked. Her partner stood up.

"That's enough for tonight. She's already out cold," she said. Hotaru pouted at her.

"Aww! The fun's over?" she whimpered. Her partner nodded.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," the butch demon replied. Hotaru unhappily lowered the whip. Emiko gave her a smile of sympathy. She gently patted her on the head.

"There, there," the butch demon cooed, "You and I can play together later on tonight, if you know what I mean." Hotaru's eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"Really? Tonight?" she asked like a hyper dog. Emiko kissed her on the lips. Her girlfriend kissed her back. The butch demon grinned at her.

"Convincing enough?" she asked. The loli demon couldn't speak; instead, she let off a happy squeal. Emiko smiled as she patted her on the head.

"So cute!" she said. Hoto-chan giggled. The girls turned to Anna hanging there, out cold.

"Let's take care of her first," Emiko said.

"Right," Hotaru said with a nod. The girls slowly took Anna down and took her into the house for the medical treatment.


	17. Jules

_Chapter Seventeen: Jules:_

_December 2nd, 2006._

She stood on the corner of the street waiting. The poor child stood there shivering and the skimpy summer school uniform wasn't helping either. Her "daddy" said that she had to wear this for work. It was her first night on the job. There is a story behind this.

She ran away from her foster home eight months ago. This was her tenth one in eight years. Her parents never let her do as she pleased. Her abusive drunkard mother gave her Hell on earth. Since then, things have been easy; too easy. She felt smothered and had to get out. The girl ended up running away as a result.

Because of that, she started to break the law. First, she began with theft. The girl started out small; just shoplifting and petty theft. Soon that wasn't enough; she needed the money. She lived on the streets and the world needs money to run. She couldn't get a proper job; too young to do so. Crime became her only option. That landed her in trouble with the men with the shiny badges. After sixteen arrests, it was time for a career change. However, what could a thirteen-year-old do?

On December first, she crossed paths with Ueda Sosuke. She happened to be looking for a place to stay for the night when she bumped into the dirty old man leaving the bank.

"Oh," she cried bowing, "I'm so sorry!" Ueda raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know Japanese manners and language so well, but yet you are foreign," he said perplexed.

"Thank you sir," the girl said putting on an innocent charm to woo him over to take her home with him. Ueda gently took her by the cheeks and studied the girl for a moment. One look into his eyes took her that she would be a useful asset to his business.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said quickly, "And I need a place to stay tonight!" Ueda-san grinned at her as he came up with the right hook.

"Well then, come with me," he said."

_June 13th, 2009._

Seita sat in his summer class trying not to fall asleep. Anna enrolled him into the local cram school so that he could catch up with his peers. The boy snorted to himself on that thought. He didn't even know why he hadn't left Kimoto Manor yet. Maybe it was the food, who could say? Six days from now, it would've been a month since he came to live at the manor. Funny thing, he used to be unhappy there, but now…

"Tojo-kun!" a voice snapped. The boy came back to earth and saw the professor glaring at him. Seita blinked.

"Yes?" he asked in a rushed voice. The professor stamped his foot impatiently.

"I'm sorry, but am I boring you?" he asked through clinched teeth. Silence fell in the classroom. Seita looked around as the rest of the class stared at him. The boy blinked again.

"Yeah…" he said without really thinking about the answer. His classmates laughed at his response. The professor didn't think it was funny.

"Get out!" he snapped. A puzzled look came over Seita's face.

"Why?" he asked. The professor's face went bright red.

"Get out! Get out! Get out! JUST GET OUT!" he shouted as he slammed his fists down on the desk. Seita shrugged at him.

"Okay, okay. I'm going," he said. The boy got up and walked out into the hall. Seita took a look around him. The hallway looked so empty; empty and muggy. _Fine time for the teacher to put me out!_ Seita sighed as he leaned up against the wall.

"Got thrown out too?" a voice questioned him. The boy quickly glanced over to his left. A girl stood on the other side of the door. This skinny American girl looked about his age. She has her long black hair put back into a long braid. The girl was only dressed in a tight gold and black party dress with matching sandals. Seita looked her up and down.

"What's it to you?" he challenged her. The girl played with her braid.

"Why else are you out here?" she asked so sweetly. Seita looked a bit sheepish.

"Good point…" he mumbled as he looked down at his feet. The girl smirked at him. Seita looked at her oddly. Who was this girl? Come to think of it, he had never seen her before in his life.

"Did you transfer here?" he asked. The girl raised an eyebrow at him.

"Huh?" she asked back. Seita shrugged and turned his body to face her.

"It's just… I've never seen you here before. You new or something?" he explained. The girl looked away.

"Yeah…" she mumbled.

"I'm Tojo Seita," the boy said with interest in his voice.

"Jules," the American girl said back. Seita looked on at his new acquaintance still.

"Why are you out here?" he asked. Jules made a face at him.

"Why do you think?" she asked back. A sweat drop formed on Seita's head.

"Oh right… not wearing the summer uniform," he muttered. Jules rolled her eyes.

"That bitch! She's just mad that she hadn't gotten any in years! Me on the other hand? I could have any guy I want! I mean look at me. I'm just that hot," she bragged angrily. Seita just looked her funny.

"Why are you dressed like a hooker anyway?" he asked. Jules shrugged and tossed back her one of her black braids.

"Old habit, I guess," she replied. The boy raised an eyebrow at her.

"So… you're saying you were a hooker?" he asked. Jules looked away in discomfort and sighed.

"Yeah, I used to be a prostitute three years ago. I quit days ago," she answered him with her fists clenched at her side. Jules nervously bit her lip. Seita broke into laughter.

"That's a good one! You a child hooker? That's so rich!" he said aloud. However, her look on her face turned him serious. Seita went awkwardly quiet.

"Oh. I didn't know…" he mumbled to himself. At last, the bell rang. Seita quickly looked up.

"Oh, time to go," he pointed.

"Uh-huh," Jules said with a nod.

"See you tomorrow?" Seita asked.

"Maybe!" the former working girl said with a wink. Jules walked away down the hall. Seita gave her a funny look as she disappeared out of view.


	18. Love or Confusion

_Chapter Eighteen: Love or Confusion:_

Anna sat at her desk lost in thought. Hotaru's question plagued her since morning. Why did she fight? Anna thought she knew the answer, but now she wasn't so sure anymore.

She pulled open the top desk drawer on her right and took out her journal. The light pink cherry blossom petals stood out from the red and black fabric cover. She felt along the stitched in design. This notebook was a year old now and her fifteenth actual journal. When she first came to California, the school therapist suggested that she write about feelings to clear her head. Anna had been doing so ever since. When she didn't have a journal, any piece of paper did just fine. Some events of her life were even on napkins and toilet paper.

Anna opened her notebook. The pages smelt of the museum gift shop and secrets. Anna turned to a blank page and set the journal down below her. She reached over and drew out a red pen. Anna drew in a deep breath and started writing.

_Why do I fight? Survival? Winning? Honor? No. So, why do I fight? I used to know. No, I assumed I knew why. Now, I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure about anything anymore. Why do I fight? Why do I fight? Why? Why?_

Anna sat back in her chair to think about this for a while. Hotaru was right; she had been fighting since Daisuke died. Her battles in her head had led to her appearing distant to everyone in San Diego. Her friends tried to get to know her, but she always blocked them out with her "invisible glass box" as Becky called it. Her best friend never gave up on Anna at all. The woman was determined to reach her no matter what. Wonder if Becky would still feel the same if she knew that Anna was a descendant of murderous kitsune-tsukai.

A strange thought crossed her mind. Anna's eyes widened at its intrusion as she rolled back in her chair. _Why am I thinking about Tsuzuki at a time like this?_, she thought. This wasn't the first time either. Tsuzuki had been on her mind lately and she couldn't understand why. Another thought followed her first one.

_Am I… in love with him?_, Anna wondered with startling shock. She quickly shook her head. _No! That can't be!_ _Could it?_ It was nice to see Tsuzuki again after ten years. He was goofy at times, but he took time listening to her. Plus, Tsuzuki was so good to her. Maybe a romantic relationship could be possible between them.

Reality or rather, doubt slowly sank in. Anna shook her head. _No, that would be too weird. It was a silly crush ten years ago. Plus…_ Anna looked down at her chest. The Hell Stone was like a pacemaker to her soul. Once it gave out, she was done; just white ash to her very soul and nothing else. Despite all the facts in front of her, Anna couldn't help but wonder about that reoccurring possibility.

Suddenly, something on her computer screen caught her eye. Curious, Anna clicked on the message icon. The sender was from watchingme .jp. Why won't they come out and show themselves? It didn't make sense. Never the less, Anna clicked on the e-mail. The message content made her eyes widen.

Listen to tape entry #18.

Anna rushed over to the box of tapes and dug through them. After many listens, she found tape with entry #18. She rewound the tape to the beginning of the dated recording and hit play. The content removed all doubts about Yumiko and Kirika's murders. She got on her cell phone and dialed up Tsuzuki about the discovery.


	19. Mommy Dearest

_Chapter Nineteen: Mommy Dearest:_

Haruka sat in the dark as she pet her kitsune, Shiroko. She made a handsome recovery, but she was now hungry for revenge. Her mistress looked out through the thick darkness.

"Well?" she asked with narrowed eyes. Yasuo sat on the floor kneeling before her.

"I found Anna," he admitted.

"And?" his mother asked.

"I let her go," he said. Haruka glared at her oldest son.

"Why?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Anna was at a demon's house trying to break Daisuke's shield. I wanted to try and kill her when she was stronger," Yasuo reasoned as he tried to calm down his mother's rising rage.

"And why is that?" she hissed clutching her glass of red wine. Yasuo swallowed as he lifted his head.

"I wanted a challenge," he said.

"You what?" his mother asked. Her son swallowed again.

"Yes," he said. Haruka began to have the eyes of a serpent. Yasuo felt a cold chill run through his aging body. No one was left alive after typhoon Haruka. He could feel another storm coming up.

"The sacrifice victims have been too easy lately," he tried again, "It was likewise when I killed Anna the first time. Now that she's alive, I want to kill her with my powers as well. I just don't want Aki to get too lazy." Haruka looked at him as if she didn't believe a single word. Yasuo bowed his head, shaking.

_Please accept this! Please accept this! Please accept this!_, he thought over and over. His mother's face didn't change.

"Fair enough," she muttered. Yasuo relaxed in surprise.

"So… this is okay with you?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "Now go back to Kimoto Manor." Yasuo looked at her confused.

"Why?" he asked. Haruka grinned at him.

"Spy on your niece for me, would you?" she suggested. Yasuo quickly nodded.

"Yeah," he said like an excited puppy, "Sure, of course!"

"Good, now get out," his mother ordered him. Yasuo slowly rose to his feet and walked over to the door. He turned back to his mother.

"I won't fail you this time, mother! Anna's death will be my best kill yet!" he promised her.

"GET OUT!" Haruka yelled. Yasuo ran out of the bedroom as fast as he could.

"Shut the door," she said. Her son did so nervously as she took another drink. Yasuo looked and found his younger brothers crouched near the door, looking up at him. The youngest man blinked at him.

"You're not in trouble?" he asked. Yasuo shook his head.

"Nope," he replied, "In fact, going to spy on the lamb now. Bye!" The oldest son walked out of the house. His brothers watched unconvinced.

"He is such a kiss-ass," the second brother muttered.

"I know," the youngest brother replied. They didn't dare repeat this however. Any and everything got back to that demented old lady. If she heard anything negative from her sons, they would be in for Hell when they got home. Something told them she wanted blood tonight too. The boys went uncomfortably silent and looked at each other.

"I've got to go," the second son mumbled.

"Yeah," the third son agreed. The younger sons quickly hurried home.

Meanwhile, Haruka sighed aloud in her bedroom. She thought they would never leave. Sure they were her sons, but those boys were just annoying. Yasuo was the worst; he always wanted her attention and approval. That man might as well be a little dog. Haruka grimaced at that train of thought. Dogs; she hated the little beasts, so needy, loyal, and dirty. Haruka tricked her youngest daughter, Kirika, into feeding a neighbor's dog poison back in Kobe. Boy did she enjoy the look on the child's face when she learned that she killed that pesky mutt!

Haruka never wanted children or to get married. She just wanted to be free. The old lady got her wish the day after Christmas in 1950. Her parents were so wrapped up in Juriko's death that they didn't notice that her twin had left. Haruka fled all the way to Kobe. Her father always loved that city before the war permanently damaged him. In Kobe, Haruka lived freely, that was short-lived however.

Haruka met a beautiful boy named Kimoto Akio on New Year's Day in 1951. This boy was not a normal sixteen-year-old boy. Akio was obsessed with the occult and dark magic. He also knew all about the Eda clan curse. He was so obsessed with the family that he collected newspaper clippings about their blood sacrifices. So anyone could imagine his joy when he first met one of the daughters of the Eda clan.

Initially, Haruka had no interest in the fan boy. He was like a little puppy following her around all over the place. She hated boys like that, but Akio slowly wore the ice queen down. Haruka began to find use in that boy. Maybe having a dog around was convenient after all. Akio did everything in his power to keep her happy and she in return gave him carnal pleasure. This arrangement worked for a while.

One year later, Akio wanted to get married. Haruka refused at the quick start, but yet the puppy didn't quit. After thirteen proposals, she finally said yes. They married on October first, 1952. Her enslavement didn't end there. On August sixth, 1953, Haruka gave birth to Kimoto Yasuo. She never wanted any children; that was all Akio's idea, but how could she turn down such beautiful, angelic eyes? Akio never seemed to age; he still looked just as gorgeous as the day they first met. She may be the one in control, but Akio had his own power over his wife.

On November twenty-third, 1957, Haruka gave birth to a second son. Three years after that on May fifth, the couple had a third son. Haruka thought three children were enough, but Akio wanted more kids. One New Year's Day, 1965, Daisuke was born. Two years later on February second, the couple's first daughter, Yumiko, was born. However shortly after her birth, Haruka and Akio got up one morning on March first and abandoned their children. Nobody knew where the parents went and Yasuo just raised his younger brothers and sister for close to two years.

On March third, 1969, Haruka returned home with two surprises. One; Akio was not with her and two; she had a baby girl in her arms. Her children looked at their mother and the baby in confusion and shock. Haruka gave them a cold smile.

"This is your sister, Kirika," she told her children. They naturally took this as fact and accepted Baby Kirika in the family. Since then, Haruka had dealt with a pack of puppies; three annoyingly loyal and three annoyingly disobedient. She had the disobedient ones put down years ago.

Haruka took a sip of her red wine. Unfortunately, one of the disobedient pups bred another annoyingly disobedient puppy. She was put down once, but Tsuzuki brought her back from the dead. Now, the old tsukai would have to do the whole process all over again. Haruka sighed aloud again as she rubbed her forehead in pain. Dogs just complicated things in her life. It was all Akio's fault with his angelic beauty that drew her in.


	20. Mother of the Year

_Chapter Twenty: Mother of the Year:_

_June 3rd, 1982._

Daisuke awoke to a cruel surprise that morning. First off, it was dead silent in the house. Haruka would usually be yelling at Yasuo in the mornings. Daisuke got out of his futon and wandered around the house.

"Hello?" he asked, "Anybody here?" The boy looked around as no one answered. Maybe they've left for good and he's all alone now? No, that would be too much of a dream. So where are they? Suddenly, Daisuke happened to look out the kitchen window and see smoke. Curious he walked to the back door for a better look. He noticed that his mother was dumping a box of stuff in a fire pit in the backyard. At first, Daisuke thought nothing of it. That was until he noticed a familiar fluffy pink bunny being sacrificed to golden yellow flames below.

_That's Kirika's bunny!_, he thought with big shocked eyes. It didn't take long for the boy to piece together what was going on. He raced outside to his mother in fear.

"STOP!" Daisuke cried out. Haruka and the boys all paused and looked up. The youngest boy paused to catch his breath.

"Stop!" he cried again, "What are you doing?! That's Kirika's bunny!" His mother sneered at him.

"For fuck sake, she and Yumiko are never coming back!" she yelled, "It's time to forget about them!"

"No!" Daisuke argued. He tried to save what was left of his sisters' belongings from the famished flames. He just about made it to one box when Yasuo tackled him to the ground. Daisuke yelped in pain.

"Get off me!" he cried, "Let me go!" He struggled to get away as Haruka dumped another box into the growing fire.

"Keep still, runt!" Yasuo growled as he sat on his brother to keep him pinned to the ground.

"No!" Daisuke shouted. The boys tussled on the ground even more. Yasuo tried to use his weight to keep the seventeen-year-old from moving around. The other sons watched silent.

"Make this easier on yourself," the third son said quietly. Usually, that command worked. Today, Daisuke resisted his brother's calm voice and command failed. Something in the youngest son completely broke down and snapped. He shoved Yasuo off of his body. The oldest son fell backwards with a thud. Daisuke scrambled to his feet and raced to one of the boxes. He snatched up the nearest thing his fingertips could touch. The boy would've grabbed more if Yasuo hadn't come up behind him and roughly yanked him away. Daisuke fell to the ground with Yumiko and Kirika's birth charms clutched in his hands. Haruka was now pissed.

"Give those to me!" she snapped.

"No!" Daisuke protested.

"I said give those to me!" his mother yelled.

"No!" her son screamed as he held the charms to his chest. Haruka's rage flared up out of control.

"YOU!" the old lady snapped. She picked up her bamboo cane and began beating her youngest son in the head, back, and legs. The other boys watched as the lashes kept coming. Daisuke would've usually folded by this point to stop the pain. This time, something in him just wouldn't take his mother's abuse anymore. He couldn't explain it at the time, but this was all he could do to fight back.

_June 13th, 2009._

Tsuzuki arrived at Kimoto Manor's door and rang the door bell. When the door opened wide, shock washed over his face. Anna's whole complexion looked corpse-white. She looked like she would throw up as her whole body trembled all over. Tsuzuki began to get worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Her greenish-brown eyes, usually filled with vigor and a quiet strength, looked dead and worn out. Tsuzuki didn't like this one bit.

"Is it Daisuke's tape?" he asked. Anna still didn't speak; she just went in the house. Tsuzuki followed behind uneasily. She led him to her room and paused when she came to the tape player. Tsuzuki couldn't hold back any longer.

"Okay," he said, "Anna, what's wrong? Did Daisuke say something on the tapes?" Anna wouldn't talk and instead she hit play.

_Tape Entry #18:_

_March 21st, 1983._

My name is Kimoto Daisuke. I am eighteen years old and a single father. I have come to a realization last night. I can't get away from my past. It's time I finally came out and said it. I apologize to Anna-chan in advance when she hears this tape. The truth may be ugly and hard to swallow, but it just has to come out. I'm so sorry, Anna-chan.

My mother is Kimoto Haruka and she is Satan in human form. For all of our childhood, she gave us Hell. Mother was a complete bitch. No, she doesn't deserve to be called "mother." Haruka had creative ways of torturing us. One time, Shichiro snuck out to see his then-girlfriend that she didn't like. She found out be morning and the girl had a flaming dead cat on her front porch later that evening. My brother ended up being handcuffed to his bed from then on. I'm not done yet; it gets worse.

Haruka tricked Kirika into feeding poisoned to a neighbor's dog that she didn't like. This was a seven-year-old girl unknowingly killing an innocent that barked too much. By the time Kirika realized what had happened, it was too late. She ran to me crying afterwards. Haruka slapped us around constantly. I always woke up to her yelling at my brothers. She seemed to hate that we existed at all.

Looking back, I don't understand how we took such abuse. What's worse is my so-called "brothers" took it and still tried to make her happy. I didn't realize that until one day in June of last year. I woke up to silence that morning. Right then, I knew something wasn't right. I got up and wandered around the house. Suddenly, I noticed smoke out the kitchen window. Curious, I looked and noticed Kirika's bunny rabbit being dropped into a fire pit along with a few other things. It didn't take me long to realize that Haruka was burning my sisters' things. I raced outside to stop her. Do you know what she said when I asked her what she was doing? Let them go and forget about them. Forget about my sisters? I tried to stop her, but Yasuo tackled me to the ground. As I tried to fight him off, Nobu told me, "Make this easier for yourself." Make this easier for myself? Make this easier for myself? How could he be so blind?

It became so clear to me from that moment on. She did it; Kimoto Haruka and her sons killed my sisters! Suddenly something inside me snapped. I pushed Yasuo off of me and ran to my sisters' things. I only managed to save their birth charms. For that, I took a serious and violent beating from Haruka. Did my brothers help me? No! They just stood there and watched me get beaten by her. As the blows got worse with my tight grip on the charms, the notion of a hellish prison became dead clear to me. I had to get away from my family.

That night, I packed up my stuff and ran away from home. I haven't been back to that neighborhood ever since.

End of Tape Entry #18

Tsuzuki looked at Anna. She trembled all over at first. The woman walked out of the room in a thunder rush. Tsuzuki looked after her confused.

"Anna?" he asked. The sound of vomiting pierced the air in the bathroom. The Shinigami forced himself to wait as he heard the faucet running. In a couple of minutes, Anna came back into the room. Tsuzuki watched her as he said nothing. Anna finally broke down.

"I want to kill that bitch!" she screamed over and over again, "I want to kill her dead!" Tsuzuki raced over to her and held her close to him in an attempt to calm her down. After her rant, Anna heaved out a sigh of anger and sorrow. The woman couldn't even cry; her strength was gone.


	21. Pain Angel

_Chapter Twenty-One: Pain Angel:_

_June 16th, 2009._

Three days later, Anna marched up to Wisteria House's front door and pounded on it hard.

"Emiko!" she yelled, "Get out here, we need to talk!" The door slowly creaked open. Kazue came to the door. Anna blinked in confusion.

"Uh… Is Emiko in?" she asked. Kazue didn't answer and turned inside.

"Emiko, Door!" she yelled. Anna looked inside as the butch demon came to the front door. She grinned at her "student."

"Anna! Just the person I wanted to see! Come right on in!" she said cheerfully as she clapped her hands together. Anna did so in silence and Kazue closed and locked the door behind them.

"Can I get you anything?" Emiko asked as she got out the tea. Anna became serious.

"Give me your worst today!" she commanded. Emiko raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really now?" she asked rather perplexed. Anna's face didn't change.

"Yes. I think it's time. Give me the worst," she demanded. Kazue looked at the ring master.

"Your heard the woman," she said finishing her own cup of tea. Emiko pondered that for a moment. She focused right on the tsukai.

"You sure about this?" she asked.

"Yes!" Anna pressed. Emiko looked at her for a moment.

"Why?" she asked in interest. Anger welled in Anna's eyes.

"My grandmother is an evil and I want to kill her!" she cried. Kazue and Emiko nodded.

"Good enough," the butch demon said, "Come with us." Emiko left the kitchen. Anna got up and followed with Kazue trailing behind. They all came out to the shed. Emiko pushed open the door. Hotaru and Mike were already waiting inside. A sweat drop formed on Anna's head.

_How nice! The whole crew is here!_, she thought. Emiko signaled her in.

"After you, princess," she said with a graceful bow. Anna nodded and walked inside with the other two demons. Mike looked up.

"Hey," he said with a wave.

"You know about this now?" Ann asked blinking. Hoto-chan looked down a bit.

"We had to tell him," she explained sheepishly, "He figured it out from all of the sex Emiko-sama and I were having lately." A big sweat drop formed on Anna's head.

_Figures!_, she thought. Emiko clapped her hand together.

"Okay! Let's get to work, shall we?" she said aloud.

"Right," Anna said nodding. Emiko looked the student up and down.

"Strip please," she commanded. Anna slid off her lacy white tank top and threw it to the ground. Mike smirked at the woman's sexy white lacy bra. The tsukai looked dead serious.

"Okay. Position yourself," Emiko told her. Anna did so in silence. The lesbian couple and Mike smirked at her bottom in her jean short shorts. Damn Tsuzuki for having it all soon, lucky bastard! Emiko turned to her girlfriend.

"Hoto-chan," she said.

"Yes?" the loli demon asked.

"Care to do the honors today?" her lover offered. The loli demon perked up big time.

"Yay! Do I get more later?" she asked. Her girlfriend smirked at her.

"Whatever you want," Emiko said with a shrug. Hotaru squealed in delight.

"I won't fail you, Emiko-sama!" she said with a quick bow. The butch demon smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Good girl," she murmured. Hotaru quickly leapt up to her feet. She and Emiko shared a quick kiss before getting the big cat-o'-nine tails from the wall. Anna drew in a deep breath as she heard the footsteps getting closer. Hotaru smirked at her.

"Today, we have something special for you," she said in a twisted perky voice. Anna looked up some.

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Hell yes!" the loli demon cheered, "This session is only the appetizer." The other woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"Something bigger than this?" she asked.

"Oh yes," Hotaru told her, "So grit your teeth. I don't want to be merciful today." Anna turned forward, smirking.

"Oh, you know I will!" she remarked. Hotaru took the first lash. It didn't even faze the woman.

"Come on, is that all you got?" she asked in a cocky tone. Hotaru brought on more.

"So why do you fight?" she asked. Anna smirked at the loli demon.

"To kill grandma!" she said aloud. Another lash came.

"That's not good enough!" Hotaru yelled. Anna became confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked. More lashes came and Hotaru drew in more strength for the next round.

"Come on, Anna!" she screamed in between more lashes, "You're not even trying. I want you to find the answer, not jump onto the next convenient answer they give you!" The loli demon stepped back for a breath before continuing again.

"Now, let's try this again," she said much calmer, "Why do you, Kimoto Anna Elizabeth, still fight after so long?" The pain took over the tsukai's mind. She couldn't think straight anymore. The high she had earlier had worn off when Hotaru shot down her answer.

"I don't know!" she yelled. Six more lashes came.

"Sure you do!" Hotaru barked in between more lashes, "You're just really digging for the answer! Come on, I know you know why you fight. Keep looking for it!"

"But I don't know how!" Anna cried. Nine more lashes followed.

"TRY!" Hotaru cried. More lashes followed without mercy. Anna tried her best to think through the thick pain. Why did she fight? How would she even know how to find the answer? The whipping broke her concentration. Emiko watched aroused. Hoto-chan could be so brutal when it was called for. The butch demon always loved them bittersweet. So sexy! Maybe they should have a private encore later. Hotaru drew back, panting. Anna breathed as the pain invaded her spine. The loli demon recomposed herself.

"Okay," she said, "Now, we will go to the box." The other woman jerked up her head.

"Huh?" she asked half-out of it. Mike sat up a bit.

"Do you think she can take anymore?" he asked. The other three demons looked at him.

"Sure!" Emiko insisted. "We have to get the kitsune out somehow." She leaned in close to her housemate.

"Come on, Mike!" she pushed, "You know you want to see what happens when the infamous Eda-Kimoto curse is set free! The box will help us do so!" Mike looked away some.

"Fine," he said, "I'm keeping my hands off if we end up killing her!"

"She'll be fine, relax!" Emiko insisted, "She _does_ have the kitsune, after all." Mike said nothing. The butch demon turned to the other two.

"Get her down and take her with us," she ordered.

"Right!" Hotaru cheered.

"Yeah, yeah," Kazue mumbled. The demons unstrapped Anna and dragged her out of the shed. Emiko turned to a frowning Mike.

"Come on, Mikey!" she said, "Smile!" The other demon did as he gave her the bird. Emiko rolled her eyes.

"Oh that's real mature!" the butch demon muttered to herself. She headed out the door. Mike followed behind and shut the doors.

They all went further into the backyard. Emiko unlocked the heavy steel, vine-covered gate. Two heavy steel doors were revealed. The butch demon turned to the crew.

"Mike, help me open the doors," she said with grace. The male demon did so reluctantly. An icy cold breeze hit them all hard. Emiko went inside first. Kazue and Hotaru carried Anna inside next and Mike followed behind shutting the doors. Down the narrow hallway, through the glass doors after Emiko used her handprint to unlock them, through a short narrow hallway, and straight into the control room. Emiko and Mike stayed in the main room. Kazue and Hotaru took Anna into the experimental half and stood her to her feet. The women set up everything on both sides. Emiko turned on the microphone.

"Ready in there?" she asked.

"Just about," Hoto-chan replied.

"I'll let you play with the controls, okay?" her girlfriend offered.

"Nice!" the loli demon chirped.

"Done!" Kazue said.

"Okay," Emiko said, "Come on to this side." The other two demons complied. Kazue closed and locked the door behind them. Emiko turned to her girlfriend.

"Start up the machine," she said.

"Okay!" Hotaru she as she flipped on the switch. Everything glowed as it started up with a low hum. Emiko hit record on the machine.

"Okay, let us being the experiment," she began, "Subject is Kimoto Anna Elizabeth. My colleagues and I will administer the shock treatment right now. Begin." The butch demon turned to her girlfriend.

"Fire it up!" she commanded. Hotaru nodded.

"Roger!" the loli demon said with a salute. She turned up the knob.

"Fifteen!" she shouted. Anna screamed as the electric shocks tan through her body; such a violent alarm clock. The woman panted hard, but the experiment had only begun.

"Subject is finally conscious," Emiko said to the recording. She turned to her girlfriend.

"Crank it up," she commanded. Hotaru nodded.

"Twenty!" she yelled. Anna screamed again. Emiko nodded.

"Twenty-five!" Hotaru called as she turned the dial again. The shocks and screaming followed behind for close an hour. By sixty-five, Mike turned to Emiko.

"Shouldn't we stop now? I'm not going to be responsible for her death," he whispered. Emiko didn't look up.

"She'll be fine, Mike," the butch demon brushed off. She turned back to her girlfriend.

"Continue," she told her. Hotaru nodded.

"Seventy!" she shouted as she turned the knob again. Anna cried out as the intense shock took her into deeper pain. As the voltage increased, worry rose as well. By 110 volts, even Hotaru paused and turned to her girlfriend.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor?" she asked. Emiko shock her head.

"Continue," the ring leader said with a serious look on her face. The loli demon looked uneasily.

"You sure about that?" she asked as she tilted her head.

"Just do it," Emiko pressed. Hotaru nodded sickly.

"Okay… 115!" she said as she turned the knob. This time, shocks and silence. Hotaru reluctantly increased the voltage. Mike prepared to stop Emiko if things got out of control. In twenty minutes, Hotaru reached the highest voltage. She was about to call it when Emiko held up her hand.

"That's enough," she told her softly. Her girlfriend looked confused.

"But…" she mumbled.

"That's enough," her girlfriend insisted, "The experiment is now over." The butch demon stopped the recording and turned everything off. Hotaru slowly stood up as Emiko kept a serious face.

"Now, let's check on Anna," she said in a commanding voice. The demons walked over to the heavy steel doors and Kazue pushed them open. Darkness greeted them at first, but then there it was. All of the demons looked on in shock.

"Wow!" they said breathlessly. Anna hung before them with great white wings on her back. None of them had expected this.


	22. Scar Tissue

_Chapter Twenty-Two: Scar Tissue:_

Several hours later, Anna went home and took a shower. The new information lingered in her ears. Emiko sat in front of the other woman as Anna came to.

"Hi," Emiko whispered with a smile. The woman blinked for a moment.

"What happened?" she asked. The butch demon smiled at her.

"A lot," Emiko answered.

"How do you mean?" Anna asked still trying to recover her senses. Emiko leaned in, smiling.

"After the whipping, we gave you some electrical shocks," she said in a low voice. Anna looked at her with big eyes. Emiko chuckled at her reaction.

"Oh don't worry, you're not dead," she explained, "But, something interesting did happen."

"And what was that?" her student asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"When we finished the experiment and checked on you, you had two big white wings on your back," the butch demon told her. The look on Anna's face said that she didn't get where this was headed.

"What? Why?" she asked frantically.

"That's what we wondered," Emiko added, "So, I did some research on you while you were resting. I found two things: the cracks in the shield are deeper now and your Hell Stone protected you." Anna blinked on the last part.

"Huh?" she asked.

"The wings come out to prevent you from dying from serious injury," Emiko said as she leaned back in her chair, "However, the more the wings come out, the weaker the Hell Stone becomes. Your extended life span shortens because of it." Anna slowly took it all in.

"By how much?" she asked. Emiko shrugged.

"Who can say?" the butch demon said, "It depends on how strong the stone was made." That new information stayed with Anna.

_Even with papa's shield breaking, I still can't escape death_, she thought as the cold water rained on her body. _This time, I could end up bringing myself to a quicker death in battle._ The smart thing to do would be not to fight, but that was out of the question. Why? She was still working on that part. Anna had just got out of the shower when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" she asked she looked up.

"It's only me," a voice said on the other said on the other side. The woman froze up almost immediately.

"Tsuzuki?" she asked.

"Is this a bad time?" he replied.

"Uh… no, no!" she said in one breath, "I just got out of the shower. I'll be there in a second." Anna quickly dried off and got dressed, but as she was putting on her bra, the woman finally noticed something. Anna looked in the mirror and saw the scars on her back. Such ugly things they were; a price to pay for her unanswered need to fight and defend herself. Now she would have to have these scars until she died again.

"Are you sure this is a good time?" Tsuzuki asked, "I could come back later."

"No, no!" Anna insisted as she came back to earth, "I'm almost dressed!"

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, hang on a sec!" she yelled. Anna quickly hooked up her bra and put her shirt on. She opened the bathroom door. Tsuzuki looked straight at her.

"Hey," he said with a small wave.

"Hi," Anna said back, "What brings you by?" Tsuzuki's face became serious.

"I played the tape for Ju-Oh-Cho," he told her. Anna became serious as well.

"And?" she asked. Tsuzuki gently took her by the hands.

"They are looking for Yumiko's body and examining Kirika's," he said calmly, "We are getting closer to closing the case." Anna looked at him happily.

"Thank you!" she murmured as she bowed down. Tsuzuki embraced her tightly.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise!" he said. Tsuzuki was too caught up in his excitement that he didn't notice the fresh wounds on Anna's back. The woman let out a painful gasp and collapsed in the Shinigami's arms. Tsuzuki looked up in worry.

"Anna? Anna?" he asked clutching her tight in his arms. He slowly lowered the woman to the hall floor on her stomach.

"Anna! Anna! Anna!" Tsuzuki yelled in panic. He began to fear the worst. Was the Hell Stone finally breaking down? Was she going to be white ash now? However, something caught Tsuzuki's eye. He looked at his hands and saw them covered in blood. Confusion coated his face.

_Blood?_, the Shinigami thought. He looked down and saw Anna bleeding through the back of her cute white t-shirt. Tsuzuki quickly lifted up the cotton fabric. He was horrified to see the old and fresh whip lashes all over her back. What the hell had Anna been up to the past couple of weeks?


	23. Yumiko's Body

_Chapter Twenty-Three: Yumiko's Body:_

_February 14th, 1982._

Valentine's Day is supposed to be sweet and romantic, right? A former went out to find new land to grow crops on. He begrudgingly took his wife out with him. She practically nagged him to take her with him.

"We never spend enough time together!" she complained.

"So?" he questioned, "I'm only looking for new fields for planting."

"Let me come with you!" the wife insisted, "It's Valentine's Day! Please?" The farmer sighed and rolled his eyes. So here they were, spending a cold Valentine's Day together against his will. The wife stood around in the field, bored.

"Honey, I'm bored!" she whined. The farmer rolled eyes.

"Told you that you would be!" he shouted.

"Are you done yet?" she asked.

"No!" he shouted as he looked out at the land. The wife leaned on his body.

"How long will that take?" she whined. Her husband groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Longer if you don't shut up!" he barked. The old woman began whining under her breath.

"Honey, I've got to pee," she whispered in his ear. Her husband sighed aloud. Twenty years of marriage came to this?

"Go find a tree or something!" he complained, "Just please, shut your trap!" The wife huffed and stormed off to find a place to pee. Silence for the farmer at last.

"Honey! Honey! Honey! Honey! Honey! Honey! Honey! Honey! Honey!" the wife screamed over and over again at a distance. The farmer paused and rolled his eyes.

_Now what?_, he thought. The stressed man sighed and went to go check on his wife. She stood petrified in the winter sun further down the field.

"What is it now?" the man demanded. His wife pointed to the ground ahead of her. The farmer slowly looked in front of them. Shock fell on him like a bomb.

"What… is that?" he stammered out. The couple looked at the charred and bloated remains of a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl.

_June 13th, 2009._

"Is something wrong, Tsuzuki-san?" a small voice asked. The Shinigami looked up and saw Yoko-chan peeking into the hall at him and Anna. Her little face went pale.

"What's wrong with Anna-san?" she asked in shock. Tsuzuki tried to calm the child down.

"Shhh! Shhh," he whispered, "Yoko-chan, listen to me. Go call the paramedics! Quickly!" The little girl nodded and ran straight to the living room. Tsuzuki looked down at Anna as he tried to stop the reopened wounds from bleeding out.

"Come on, Anna," he murmured, "Hang in there! You can't die yet!" Anna was still out cold from the pain and blood loss. In thirty minutes, the medics came by to treat Anna's bloody wounds. Tsuzuki insisted that they not go to the hospital and patch her up here. The procedure took another thirty minutes. Tsuzuki sat out in the living room waiting. Kobe walked over to his feet and sat down whimpering. The Shinigami lightly patted the puppy on the head.

"I hope she's okay too," he whispered. The Shiba Inu puppy whimpered again. Tsuzuki looked into the kitchen again.

_You have to survive, Anna_, he thought, _Daisuke-san, Yumiko-chan, and Kirika-chan need you to survive for them. Not just them, for the other victims as well. You can't die yet! I won't let you!_ Finally, a medic came back out. Tsuzuki quickly leapt up to his feet and hurried over to him.

"How is she?" he asked. The doc smiled at him.

"She's going to be fine," he told him, "You called us just in time. Any longer and your friend would have bled to death." Tsuzuki relaxed.

"Ah, that's good," he said, "Can I see her now?" The medic held up his hand to stop him.

"She's resting right now," the other man said, "We just took her back to one of the rooms down the hall."

"When can I see her?" the Shinigami asked.

"Soon, just let her rest for now, okay?" the medic told him. Tsuzuki went silent and nodded.

"Okay," he said calmly. The medic smiled at him.

"Very good," he said with a bow. The medics left shortly after that exchange. Tsuzuki relaxed again; Anna was safe again. In an hour, she came back out with a blanket over her shoulders. She gave Tsuzuki a kind little smile.

"Hey," she said softly. A mix of relief and answer washed over Tsuzuki's face.

"What happened to you?" he demanded. Anna's lips trembled as she debated on telling the truth. The concerned anger in his eyes made her realize that she had no choice anyway. Another soon thought crossed her mind.

_He probably saw the…_ the woman thought in fear. Anna bit her lip again.

"I was flogged… and electrocuted," she admitted. Tsuzuki looked at her puzzled.

"Today?" he asked in shock.

"Actually," Anna admitted, "The electrocution was today and the flogging… many weeks now…"

"Weeks?" he asked. Anna lowered her head to the floor.

"Why did you do that?" Tsuzuki shouted. Anna breathed in heavily to talk again.

"I wanted to defend myself," she answered.

"Huh?" he asked caught off guard. Anna looked up at the Shinigami again.

"You asked me to help me stop my family, right?" she began to reason.

"Right," Tsuzuki said trying to keep calm.

"Well, I figured I would be useless to you with my powers locked up," she went on, "I went to Emiko and them to try and break papa's shield." That of course didn't sit well with Tsuzuki.

"Emiko?" he asked with his tone rising again, "You went to the demons? Don't you realize that they could have killed you in the process?!"

"Better by them than by Haruka or Yasuo!" she yelled. It was then Tsuzuki saw what Anna was saying. She didn't want to play the victim anymore. He sighed and smiled as he lightly patted her on the shoulder.

"Just be careful, okay?" he said.

"Okay, I promise," Anna answered with her head bowed. Tsuzuki felt much better after he had all the answers that he needed. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Both of them looked up.

"Excuse me," the Shinigami said. He pulled out his phone and flipped it open. Anna waited as Tsuzuki talked on the phone. The conversation only lasted about five minutes.

"Oh," he said, "I see; I'll be right then." The Shinigami hung up and Anna looked on at him.

"What is it?" she asked. Tsuzuki looked up at her.

"That was Watari," he said in a steady tone, "He and Hisoka found Yumiko's body." Anna's eyes grew wide in surprise as she quickly grabbed him by the arm.

"Let me come you with!" she pleaded. Tsuzuki looked concerned.

"You sure about that?" he asked, "You sure you're up for that?"

"Yes!" she insisted, "No more keeping me in the dark. I want to know it all! Take me with you!" Tsuzuki said nothing and nodded.

"Alright, you can come with me," he said. Anna smiled and bowed her head.

"Thank you," she murmured. Tsuzuki took her into his arms and teleported out of Kimoto Manor. They made it to the morgue in a few seconds. Watari and Hisoka stood near the locker waiting.

"Where is she?" Anna asked as she raced over to them, "Where is Aunt Yumiko?" Watari and Hisoka stepped away from the drawer. The scientist pulled it open and everyone looked inside. Before them lied a cold bloated body of a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl. Her limbs, stomach, and face were covered in third degree burns. What was left of the skin looked a grey-white color. The silky long black hair was still there as well. Anna looked up at the Shinigami.

"Are you sure this is her?" he asked in a low voice. Watari didn't speak, but showed her the girl's ribcage. Anna looked and saw "Eda-Kimoto" and a flower burned into the white-grey skin.

"Anna meet Yumiko," Watari spoke up, "Yumiko meet Anna." The woman trembled as she imagined what her aunt's last moments could have been like.

"If there was only some way to…" she mumbled to herself. Tsuzuki looked up at her.

"Find out how she died?" he asked.

"Yeah," the tsukai said with a nod with her eyes still on the body. An idea came into Tsuzuki's head.

"We can," he said. Anna looked at him oddly.

"How?" she asked. Tsuzuki looked over at Hisoka.

"Would you mind finding out how she died, Hisoka-kun?" he asked his partner. The boy's face didn't change.

"Sure," he said indifferent. Hisoka stepped forward and put his hands on the girl's burnt right wrist. He closed his eyes and focused as everyone else waited. In three minutes, Hisoka came back and quickly let go.

"Well," Tsuzuki said. "What did you see?" Hisoka shook his head as he looked pale all over. He slowly backed away and went outside. The Shinigami and woman heard the boy throwing up. The crew went outside to investigate and found Hisoka standing before them trembling.

"What happened?" Watari asked. Hisoka sucked in a mouthful of air.

When he could speak again; the boy said, "How could someone do all of that to their own daughter?! It's just so sick!" The others looked at each other in shocked silence.


	24. Doubt

_Chapter Twenty-Four: Doubt:_

Tsuzuki walked Anna home like a gentleman. Hisoka gave them all the grim details of Yumiko's once he calmed down. A few minutes ago, Tsuzuki looked dead on at Hisoka.

"So how did she die?" he asked. His partner stared at him dead on.

"She was kidnapped on her way to school," he explained in a trembling voice. Everyone looked in shocked.

"Kidnapped by whom?" Anna asked.

"Yasuo…" Hisoka said as with his voice breaking down. He breathed heavily as he recollected everything he saw from the corpse. Tsuzuki patted him on the shoulder.

"Take your time if you need to," he said softly. Hisoka nodded, took in another deep breath, and slowly went into detail about Yumiko's last days before her life was snuffed out. Everyone went pale when Hisoka finally stopped talking.

Now, Tsuzuki tried to lighten the mood.

"You think she did the same to… Kirika?" he asked. Anna didn't speak and Tsuzuki went quiet as well.

"Okay…" he mumbled. They made it back to Kimoto Manor. The pair was surprised to see Rihoko standing at the front door waiting for them. She had a small piece paper in her hand.

"Rihoko," Anna said. "What's going on?" The young mother waited until they were close enough.

"You had a phone call, Anna," she told her. The woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"A phone call?" she asked, "From who?"

"Some lady," Rihoko replied.

"Which lady?" Anna asked.

"She wouldn't give me her name," the busy roommate said, "But she told me to give you this." Rihoko handed Anna the note. The other woman took and read it with Tsuzuki.

"Check tape entry #26," the note read. The pair looked at each other for a moment.

"You sure you want to do this?" Tsuzuki's eyes asked Anna.

"Yes!" hers replied. With that, the Shinigami and woman raced right into the house. Rihoko looked around confused.

"Guys, what's going on?" she asked following them to Anna's room. Tsuzuki and Anna dug through the box of tapes. They found tape entry #26. Tsuzuki put the tape in the player and pressed play.

_-Tape Entry #26-_

_March 29th, 1983._

My name is Kimoto Daisuke. I am eighteen years old and a single dad. Anna-chan reminds me so much of Kirika-chan. Both were quiet little babies; they were only hussy when they were hungry. Both my sister and daughter looked like smart babies. I thought Kirika would be a doctor when she got older. I think Anna will be a doctor when she grows up, or a teacher; so many possibilities.

_He paused on tape._

Something still bugs me about Kirika. Haruka came back with her without dad that March morning. We still don't know what happened to him. Haruka won't tell us anything. Some people think dad is dead. He hasn't called or written to us since he and Haruka left us all alone. I have to wonder.

_He paused on tape again._

Saying all of that brings me to my question, who is Kirika's father?

_-End of Tape Entry #26-_

Tsuzuki, Anna, and Rihoko all looked at each other silent.


	25. Duel Challenge

_Chapter Twenty-Five: Duel Challenge:_

_May 23rd, 1976._

Jennifer Day was all over the news now. "American IBM secretary found murdered in Golden Dragon Hotel parking lot." At first, the police didn't get the motive of the murder. Robbery was ruled out for she still had her purse and wallet; everything still in both. Day-san didn't have a criminal record. Maybe it was a crime of passion? She was having an affair with her boss for years. Jealous spouse came to Japan and killed Jennifer? Not possible; her husband was at a bar and the boss' wife was at a book club meeting; both were in New York. That left the boss. He had the opportunity, but yet he loved Jennifer and wanted to secretly marry her. He wanted to feel young again and she wanted an escape. Things were going great in the relationship. He even planned to leave his wife when they returned to the States. The police had no other suspects until they saw the scars on Day-san's wrists.

On the day the body was discovered, Yasuo sat across the street at the local café, marveling the police's futile efforts to solve Day-san's murder.

_June 13th, 2009._

Yasuo sat in the same café across the street where Day-san's murder took place. Many things had changed; the café itself had Wi-Fi now and the hotel was closed for renovation. Despite that, some stings remained the same. That parking lot for instance; even without the crime scene tape, it looked the same. A sense of nostalgia came over the old man. He had to impress Haruka that night. She always saw him as a failure; maybe that night would be different. It was for a short time; he could never keep that woman happy. Yasuo had a juicy plan for Anna this time.

Yasuo wrote a message on a piece of paper and folded it up. He waited for the next random person to pass by and play messenger. The oldest son looked up and saw Seita walked by from summer school.

_Perfect!_, he thought with a smirk. Yasuo took his coffee stirrer and chucked it at the boy as he passed the table. Seita paused and looked up. Yasuo pretended to be reading when he looked up at the boy.

"Need something?" he asked. Seita blinked at him once.

"Did you throw that at me?" the boy asked back. Yasuo looked at the coffee stirrer for a moment and then at Seita.

"My apologizes," he said with a shrug.

"Why?" the boy asked with gritted teeth.

"Where are you going?" Yasuo asked as he put his newspaper done.

"Who's asking?" Seita growled.

"I'm just curious," the old man said causally. Seita raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why? Who are you, a stalker or something?" he asked in sharp tone. Yasuo chuckled at him.

"No, no," he replied, "Just a noisy old man." Seita didn't seem to buy it.

"Okay, what do you want, buddy?" he asked rather agitated. Yasuo grinned in his mind; now he had the boy interested.

"How would you like to make little money?" he asked in a smooth, charming tone. Seita's ears perked up some.

"Right now?" he asked.

"Now," the old man repeated.

"How much are we talking?" he asked leaning inwards.

"1,000 yen," Yasuo offered him. Seita wanted to know more now, sounds too tasty.

"Doing what?" he asked. Yasuo pulled his wallet and drew out a 1,000 yen bill. He handed it with the note to the boy.

"Just make a small delivery to Kimoto Manor," he said like a smooth salesman. Seita looked at him shocked.

"That's where I live," he said, "Well, sort of. It's a long story…" Yasuo smiled at him.

"Really now?" he asked intrigued. Seita nodded.

"Yeah," he said. Yasuo picked up his newspaper.

"Good for you," he said as he opened it back up, "Now get going. Go on, shoo!" Seita looked at him, oddly.

"Okay…" he mumbled. The boy started to jog away. Yasuo snickered to himself as the boy raced out of view. Seita made it all way back to Kimoto Manor. He pushed open the door.

"I'm home!" he called in the living room. No answer and the boy looked around for a bit.

"Anybody here?" he asked again. Curious, Seita walked down the hall. He peeked into Anna's room.

"Hello?" he asked. Everyone looked up at him.

"Oh," Anna said, "Sorry Seita, we were a bit preoccupied." She looked and noticed the paper in his hand. "What do you have there, Seita?" she asked.

"Huh?" the boy asked. He looked down in his right hand. "Oh, some guy had me give it to you, I guess," he said. Anna and Tsuzuki looked on in suspicion.

"Did he say who he was?" Tsuzuki asked thinking Kato might be involved again. The boy shrugged at him.

"How should I know?" Seita asked, "The guy just gave me the note and 1,000 yen and told me to deliver the note. Here, take it." Anna did so and opened it up. Tsuzuki read the message with her.

_I am coming for you in three days and you will not cheat death this time. I won't be so merciful this time, little lamb. Pray for a quicker death; I'll rather enjoy hearing you scream just like Yumiko did._

_Yasuo_

The battle in this tainted war was about to begin. Cue up the weapons of war.


	26. Review of the Case

_Chapter Twenty-Six: Review of the Case:_

Back at Ju-Oh Cho, Tsuzuki brought back the new information. The Shinigami reviewed the case and played the tapes. If there were any more doubts about this case, they were gone now. Tatsumi placed the file on the table.

"We know both Yumiko and Kirika were kidnapped by their older brother, Yasuo," he summarized.

"Haruka is an abusive mother," Tsuzuki added on, "I have a feeling she is still abusing her sons." A question came into Watari's mind.

"Where is their father in all of this?" he asked.

"Do you think she killed Akio?" Tsuzuki offered. The others stared at him with judging eyes. The Shinigami shrugged at his coworkers.

"What? It could be possible!" he said.

"What I don't understand is why kill her daughters?" Hisoka asked, "Their kitsune weren't strong enough to begin with and Kirika's powers had just manifested before she died. What's the purpose?"

"Maybe to hurt Daisuke…" Watari offered, "Daisuke loved his sisters more than anything, right? Haruka seemed to be jealous of her own daughters. So what better way to hurt her youngest son and get rid of her competition all at once?" They all pondered that theory. When put that way, it did make sense. That point reminded Tsuzuki of two things.

"Oh, we also got this note from Yasuo today," the oldest Shinigami said. He slid the paper forward. Konoe picked it up and unfolded it. The other four Shinigami read along with him.

"He means to hurt her in three days," Tsuzuki said after they were finished. Konoe lowered the paper in his hands.

"Tsuzuki, Kurosaki go back Kimoto Manor," he ordered, "Stay there with Kimoto-san. When Yasuo shows up, take all actions necessary to have him judged! Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the boys said.

"Who's staying with her right now?" Older Gushoshin asked. Tsuzuki looked a bit sheepish on that one.

"Uh… I left with Emiko and her housemates…" he mumbled.

"You left her with demons?" Tatsumi questioned. Tsuzuki looked away nervously.

"They insisted before I left!" he whimpered, "How could I turn them down? Emiko and her girlfriend are so pushy!"

"Speaking of which," Hisoka spoke up. "What about her friends?" Tsuzuki looked up at him on that question.

"Whose friends?" he asked blinking.

"Kimoto-san's friends from the states, of course!" his partner said. A sweat drop formed on Tsuzuki's head.

_Aw shit_, he thought, _I knew I forgot something!_ Konoe raised an eyebrow at him.

"You mean they're still in the country?!" he shouted. Tsuzuki began panic even more.

"I'm still trying to work on that!" he wailed, "Becky won't leave until she finds Anna and brings her back to San Diego!" Konoe looked at him sharply.

"You talked to one of them?" he asked trying to stay levelheaded. Tsuzuki nodded quickly.

"Apparently on the States, she and Anna's other friends were told in the news that she committed suicide," he explained. The other five thought this new piece of information. Ever since Jennifer Day's murder back in 1976, the Japanese media covered up the Eda-Kimoto clan murders that involved foreigners with stories of suicides and accidents. If word got out that people were getting killed by a clan of kitsune handlers to other countries, the tourism industry and other foreign businesses would drop off dramatically. As for the natives in Japan, the Japanese media had no trouble the whole truth about the murders.

"And her friends don't buy it?" Tatsumi finished. Tsuzuki shook his head.

"Becky believes that Anna was murdered or sold into prostitution," he said. They all looked at him funny on that last part.

"Hey, I know that last part sounds silly, but that's what she believes," Tsuzuki said with a shrug.

"Either way," Konoe cut in, "We can't have them finding out anything about these cases!" He turned to Tsuzuki and Hisoka.

"Find some way to get rid of her friends!" he ordered them, "I don't care how you do it; just send them back to San Diego! Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the boys said before they headed back to Chijou.


	27. Demons Playing Cupid

_Chapter Twenty-Seven: Demons Playing Cupid:_

Emiko looked out the living room window of Kimoto Manor. She grinned as she saw Tsuzuki and Hisoka appear on the pathway. The butch demon turned inside.

"Oh Hoto-chan!" she yelled, "They're here!" Hotaru cheered to herself softly.

"So do we begin out project now?" she asked all hyped up. Emiko smirked at her girlfriend.

"You get the boy, I get the girl," she said in lower voice. The loli demon saluted her.

"Roger that!" she said. The girls scattered off to work.

_-Emiko's End-_

The butch demon found Anna in her room locked in on her laptop. Emiko grinned to herself as she gracefully walked into the room.

"What do you want?" Anna asked. Emiko paused and smiled with a hint of mischief.

"Hey, old pal," she said with a wave. The target didn't look up.

"Is this another scheme to get Tsuzuki and me together?" she asked as she typed in the text box.

"Yeah," Emiko said with a nod. Anna still didn't look up.

"Why?" she asked through clinched teeth.

"Why not?" the butch demon asked with a shrug. Anna turned around to her this time.

"What kind of answer is that?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Why can't you admit it?" Emiko asked leaning in with crooked smile on her face.

"Admit what?" Anna asked.

"You thought about a relationship with Tsuzuki," the butch demon said without missing a beat, "Fess up!" Anna went quiet as she looked away. Emiko's eyes lit up.

"Ah! You have!" she said out loud. Anna's cheeks went a bright red.

"Okay, yes I have," she admitted with clenched teeth. Her tone changed as she lowered her head. "But, I know it's not going to happen," she muttered herself. The butch demon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"That would be too weird!" the other woman said aloud. She shook her head as she tried to get the image out of her mind. "I was sixteen when I met him," the woman went on, "And besides…" Anna looked down at her feet. "I'm on limited time here," she muttered, "The only reason I'm alive is because of a Hell Stone Tsuzuki put in my soul. He's either going to take it out when this case is over or it'll break down and I will become white ash." She snapped her head forward. "So, an intimate relationship is not a good idea," the woman summed up. Emiko brushed it off without a thought.

"Hm," the butch demon said back, "All the more reason to grab him and grab him fast!" Anna looked at her funny.

"Huh?" she asked. Emiko smiled at her wickedly.

"It's not that hard to grasp," she summed up, "If nothing happens between you both before your time is up, you'll spend the rest of eternity regretting it, but if you and Tsuzuki do hook up before you do get sent away; you'll at have the beautiful memories to treasure with you." Anna opened her mouth, but Emiko lightly put her finger to the other woman's lips.

"Don't talk, think about it," she said in a whisper. The target closed. Emiko gave her a wicked little smile and leaned in close to Anna's face.

"Bye-bye!" the butch demon whispered. She disappeared out of the room, leaving a confused Anna staring at her blankly.

-Hotaru's End-

Tsuzuki had just come into the house when he noticed Hotaru sitting before him on the couch. She gave him a huge grin.

"Hiya," she said an innocent tone of voice. Tsuzuki sighed aloud.

"You again?" he asked trying to stay positive himself. The loli demon grinned at him.

"Yes," she replied leaning forward. She patted the couch next to her. "Come, sit," Hotaru told him, "We _have_ to talk!" The Shinigami looked around; fine time for Hisoka to vanish on him! Now, he's stuck with dark Shirley Temple. The Shinigami walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Good boy," Hotaru said with a grin. Tsuzuki stared at her.

"Okay, what do you want?" he asked.

"So, tell me," she said every so sweetly. Tsuzuki looked confused.

"Tell you what?" he asked. Hotaru looked at him closely.

"Why are you keeping Anna alive?" she asked like an innocent child. Tsuzuki prepared to wing the answer.

"I'm keeping her alive for the investigation," he began off the top of his head, "She's going to be the bait for Haruka and her sons. Now that they know she's alive, they will come and try to kill her again. When they do, we'll be ready to catch them." Hotaru gave him a serious look.

"Really now?" she asked. Tsuzuki nodded.

"Yeah," he said, hoping to sway her. Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him.

"Uh-huh," she said flatly, "Now tell me why you _really_ keeping Anna alive." Tsuzuki stared in uncomfortable silence. She saw through his excuse faster than the boys at the Ju-Oh-Cho did. At least, they humored him by going along with it. What the hell did that dark pixie want with him and Anna in a fix? Hotaru smiled and shook her head.

"Come on, you know the answer to that," she cooed in a baby-like voice, "You're not even _trying_ to dig for it. You are killing me!" Tsuzuki looked at her oddly. What was this dark cherub getting at?

In the hallway, Hisoka stood in the darkness. He heard every single word and the boy had every right to be suspicious.


	28. Night Shift

_Chapter Twenty-Eight: Night Shift:_

Tsuzuki and Anna sat on the porch watching the driveway in the late hours of the night. Two days and nothing had happened, but yet there was no time to rest. Yasuo could show up at any moment tonight. Anna was trying to sleep and Tsuzuki was lost in thought. Hotaru's words had really gotten him. Why was he still keeping Anna alive? Was he _actually_ in love with her? Risking his job for love?

The Shinigami quickly shook his head. Nah, that's crazy; right? Tsuzuki looked over at Anna. She had her eyes closed, trying to sleep. The Shinigami couldn't help but smile. _Boy, she looks so peaceful_, he thought, _It would be wrong to wake her…_

"Anna, Anna," he whispered as he tapped her on the shoulder. She began to frown with her eyes shut.

"What, Tsuzuki?" she asked sounding cranky.

"Talk to me," he whispered.

"No!" the woman hissed, trying to go back to sleep.

"Why not?" Tsuzuki asked, pouting.

"I want to sleep!" Anna complained.

"But if don't talk to me, I'll fall asleep too," he reasoned, sounding like a sweet little kid, "Then Yasuo will show up and kill you again. Then, I'll be fired and regret not saving you." A plus-cross shape appeared on Anna's head as she gritted her teeth.

"Fine!" the woman snapped, "What do you want to talk about?" Tsuzuki shrugged.

"Just anything, really," he replied with a little pout.

"That's not good enough," Anna said in a bitter tone, "Think of something or I'm going to sleep."

"Okay, uh… Have Emiko and Hotaru been talking to you lately?" the Shinigami asked in desperation to keep her awake. Anna opened her eyes and looked at him on that one.

"Emiko has, why?" she responded.

"I think they are trying to make us into a couple," he said.

"You notice that too?" Anna asked staring at him.

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

"Buy why?" the woman asked with her eyes narrowed at him, "What are they up to now?" The Shinigami shrugged.

"Tell me and we'll both know," he said.

"Hm," she said in thought. Tsuzuki noticed Anna's left wrist.

"Anna," he spoke up. The woman stared out into the night.

"Uh-hm?" she asked.

"What's with your bracelet?" the Shinigami asked back. Anna looked down at the jewelry in question.

"Oh this?" she asked, "It belonged to my aunt Kirika. Papa gave it to me years ago."

"Ah," Tsuzuki said, nodding. The woman felt sentimental so suddenly.

"His little soldier," she mumbled to herself, "That's what he called me; his little soldier."

"You and your father sounded like you were really close," Tsuzuki stated.

"We were," Anna murmured. She looked over at the Shinigami.

"What about you? Were you close to anyone?" she asked. Tsuzuki went quiet. Should he talk about her? He was learning about her father each and every day. The man lowered his head.

"Yes, a sister," he said softly, "Her name was Ruka."

"Were you really close?" Anna asked.

"Yes; sweet girl," the Shinigami answered, "She was the only person in the world that cared about me. I didn't know what to do without her." Anna understood how he felt.

"What happened to your sister?" she asked. Tsuzuki lower lip trembled.

"She died…" her murmured. He could feel his heart breaking all over again. Anna herself felt a little bit of his sorrow.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said softly. Tsuzuki fought hard to smile.

"It's okay," he tried to lie, "I'm fine now, really!" The look on Anna's face told him that she didn't believe him.

"You sound like I did in college," she said sternly. Tsuzuki frowned at her.

"Am I that obvious?" he asked. Anna didn't say a word. Tsuzuki looked down at his feet.

"Oh…" he said quietly. Anna decided to change the subject.

"So… slow three days, hasn't it?" she asked in a more chipper voice. The Shinigami looked up and nodded.

"Yeah," he said trying to really cheer up. Anna shuffled her feet a bit.

"So… how are you?" she asked.

"Good," Tsuzuki answered, "You?" The woman nodded and pressed her lips together.

"Good," she replied. So hard to find the words after opening old wounds again; yet they both had the same question in their minds. Could they have an intimate relationship together? They had a guess to that answer, but they wanted to hear it out loud. Who would be first to ask? Why couldn't they word it the way they wanted to say it? The clock ticked loudly in their heads as the pause lengthened on and on. Anna finally opened her mouth to speak when they heard footsteps in the darkness.

"You hear that?" Tsuzuki whispered.

"Yeah," Anna whispered back. The Shinigami drew out his fuda.

"Stay by me," he whispered to the woman. Anna nodded as the footsteps crept closer and closer. The pair looked up and saw Yasuo standing only six inches away from them, smirking.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" he asked sarcastically.


	29. Q&A

_Chapter Twenty-Nine: Q&A:_

Yasuo smirked at them with his kitsune, Aki, sitting beside him.

"Well, well," he said with his hands up, "You're both here; good for me." Tsuzuki prepared to attack with his fuda in hand. Anna felt her wrists burning with the cold again, but tried not to show her pain. Her eyes were filled with hate for her uncle. Yasuo snickered to himself as he took in the scene.

"I love how you're both wanting some blood right now!" his voice boomed through the night air, "You know, I'm in a good mood; so I purpose a little game before I kill you tonight." Tsuzuki kept up his guard.

"A game?" he asked. The uncle nodded.

"Yes," he said, "She asks me three questions, you ask me three questions, and I'll answer them." Yasuo reached down and patted his kitsune on the head. "In exchange, I ask you both six questions and you answer me," he summed up, "Got me?" Tsuzuki eyed him sharply.

"Six questions, huh?" he asked.

"Yes," Yasuo replied. Tsuzuki slowly took it all in.

"Alright," he said, "We'll play your king."

"How did my aunts die?" Anna dove in through her pain. Yasuo grinned at his niece.

"Eager one, aren't you?" he asked back, "Well, okay; I kidnapped them both. My brothers and I kept them in a shield near the dock and tortured them day and night. Momma put the burns on their bodies and killed them." Yasuo laughed and patted his kitsune on the head again. "I poured the gasoline all over that little bitch Yumiko," he bragged, "She begged me not to kill her. It's so good to hear lambs begging for mercy! Boy, did she beg! Guess that little bitch wasn't as tough as she made herself to be!" Anna gritted her teeth at him.

"You monster!" she screamed. Tsuzuki had to hold her back when she tried to leap at her uncle. Yasuo stepped closer.

"Why does your pretty little soul keep resisting me?" he asked. Anna glared at him and clenched her fists.

"I'd rather be white ash than feed a bastard like you my soul!" she barked. Her uncle sneered at her.

"You!" he hissed.

"Why kill Yumiko and Kirika?" Tsuzuki asked. Yasuo smirked at him as he regained his composure.

"Momma hated them," he said so coolly. Both targets' jaws dropped when they heard that sentence.

"Oh yes," he said, "She hated them; Momma hated us all. However, she hated the lambs the worst. Daisuke was so close to them and she hated him as well. Momma thought he was weak and a crybaby. Yumiko and Kirika spoiled him that way. So, momma decided to punish him by taking the lambs away from your loser of a father! She slaughtered the little lambs!" The last two lines were directed at his niece. Anna glared at him like she wanted to kill him.

"Don't let him get to you," Tsuzuki whispered. She tried to calm down with hard breaths.

"Now, why did you have to make me have to kill my niece again?" Yasuo asked Tsuzuki. Anna looked at the Shinigami as he stood up straight.

"Because we need her to stop you guys," he said boldly. The old man's face didn't change.

"Right…" he muttered as if to himself. A sweat drop formed on Tsuzuki's head.

_Even he doesn't buy it?_, he thought in distress. Both men turned to Anna when she cleared her throat. The woman rubbed her wrists again.

"How can you follow such a horrible woman?" she asked. Her uncle shrugged.

"She's our mother," he said simply, "We have to do as she tells us. I am sworn to keep her happy." Anna looked at him in disgust.

"How could you…" she began to ask, but Yasuo held up his hand.

"Aint!" he said, "I get to ask the question time, not you." Anna shut her mouth in anger. Yasuo smirked at her.

"Now, it the shield broken yet?" he asked. Anna glared at him.

"No! It's just cracked," she hissed.

"That's a shame," he said, shaking his head.

"Why kill Endo Aya, Jimbo Hoshi, and Joshuya Rika?" Tsuzuki asked, "They don't fit your type of victim." Yasuo smiled at him.

"Two reasons," he told him, "Because, I could and Endo and Jimbo looked like my sisters while Joshuya was only a warning." Tsuzuki glared at him.

"Bastard…" he hissed. Yasuo shrugged.

"Hey! I do what I do to live," he reasoned. Aki snuffled around, but his master patted him to keep still.

"Now, you alone tonight, right?" the old living man asked.

"No, we have four demons and my partner with us," Tsuzuki replied. Yasuo thought about that and nodded.

"Ah, I see," he said at last. Anna stepped forward.

"Can't you see that you and your brothers are nothing but pawns to grandma?" she asked as she tried to break away from Tsuzuki's grasp. Yasuo grinned at her.

"You just don't understand," he said, "Sure we are pawns, but I would even take my life just to keep Momma happy!" His niece shook her head at him.

"That's sad," she said. Yasuo glared at her.

"What do you know anyway?" he asked.

"She's just a cold, heartless bitch with no soul!" she shouted. Both the kitsune and owner became pissed.

"How do we free the souls from your family's curse?" Tsuzuki cut in just in time. Yasuo grinned at that question.

"The only way to save those poor souls is to kill us," he said overconfidently. Tsuzuki took that in for later. Aki stood up and prepared to attack. Yasuo patted him on the head as he gave them a twisted grin.

"One more question, how shall I kill you both—quickly or slowly?" he asked like a hungry demon.

"Like hell you will!" Tsuzuki snapped. Yasuo grinned at him like a madman.

"Not an option!" he howled, "Aki, kill the bitch!"

"Yes master!" the kitsune replied. The beast sailed forward and pinned Anna to the ground before she and Tsuzuki could grasp what just happened.


	30. Rise

_Chapter Thirty: Rise:_

_February 10th, 1982._

Yumiko sat alone in a shed surrounded by cold darkness. The third son chained her to the wall last night. Yasuo and the second son beat her with big sticks for trying to escape once again. The final blow struck her so badly that she was out cold until this point. The injuries from last night joined the ones on her from the weeks of captivity. Dried blood coated her mouth and lower jaw. Her starved body did little to help her endure the daily abuse that her mother and brothers put her through habitually. She lost track of days and time in her prison of a shed. All she could think about was the pain and betrayal. How could her brothers do this to her? Her mother was one thing, but them both together? Yumiko didn't care anymore; she just wanted her pain and suffering to come to an end now. The poor girl just wanted to die now.

The door creaked open and the girl tried to see out. _A savior?_, she thought. No, Yasuo and Haruka returned. Yumiko trembled in fear as Yasuo walked forward with a huge can of gasoline in his hands.

"Happy birthday!" he said in a cold mocking tone. Yumiko whimpered in agony as she struggled away from her oldest brother.

"No, no! Please! No!" she begged over and over again softly. Her pleas fell on heartless, deaf ears. Yasuo opened the gasoline and poured it all over her legs, arms, face, and stomach. Haruka stood back as her son lit the match.

_June 19th, 2009._

Tsuzuki blinked in confusion. "What just happened?" he asked. Yasuo smirked at him.

"I siced Aki onto her," he answered, "He used his teeth and claws to pin her to the ground. Now, he is draining the soul out of her body. Anna will be a dried corpse by the time Aki is done with her." Tsuzuki glared at him.

"Bastard!" he barked. The Shinigami pulled out his fuda and prepared to attack. Yasuo snickered at him.

"Don't bother," he explained, "Outside attacks won't work. The only way the spell can be broken is if the victim overpowers Aki before they die and my niece only has about…" The living old man looked at his black watch. "Fifty seconds," he said. Tsuzuki glared at him as he clutched his fuda in grasp.

"Asshole!" the man barked. He turned back to Anna on the ground. She looked as if she was having a seizure to normal eyes. Only he and Yasuo could see the kitsune pinning her to the ground.

_Come on Anna_, Tsuzuki thought, _Fight them! You have to survive for your father and aunts!_

White noise greeted Anna as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She felt her body floating on her back in the middle of the emptiness surrounding her. She tried to lift her arm to no avail.

_I can't… move_, she thought. The woman tried to piece together her situation.

_Okay… I'm lying down in the middle of a white nowhere. I can't move… Now what?_ A sharp pain shot through her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise as she winced. Thoughts raced through her mind.

_I can't breathe! What's… happening… to… me?_ The pressure on her body was crushing her. _I'm going to die here in the middle of nowhere. No one can save me; I'm just going to die here alone!_

_Anna-chan!_ _Anna-chan!_ _Anna-chan!_

The woman tried to look up. No one was in sight. _Who is that?_

_Anna-chan! Get up!_

She tightly closed her eyes. _But I can't! I can't move!_

_You have to! You have to fight!_

Her eyes shot wide open with shook. _Papa? Aunt Yumiko? Aunt Kirika? How do I get up?_

_Why do you fight?_

Anna tightly shut her eyes. _I… I…_

The woman searched for the words in her mind. The pain spread from her chest to her lungs. She felt as if she was being torn up from the inside.

_I don't want to die! I want to live!_

_Then why do you fight?_

_I fight… I fight…_ Anna snapped opened her eyes. _I fight to survive and keep myself together!_

Aki was blasted in midair back over to his owner. The kitsune skidded across the pavement and hit his master's feet with a thud. Both men looked up stunned. Yasuo went really pale.

"B-But… that's not possible!" he shrieked as he stepped backwards, "She should've died by now! She doesn't have the power to repel Aki so easily!" Tsuzuki said nothing as he saw Anna lying on the ground with her white wings. Her uncle picked up Aki and fled with a stronger hunger for revenge.

"I won't let you off so easily, little lambs!" he shouted as he ran off, "I will be back to finish what I started!" He knew what to use for next time. The Shinigami raced forward and took Anna into his arms.

"Anna!" he shouted as he gently tried to shake her awake, "Stay with me, Anna! I'll call for help!" He reached for his cell phone in his coat when he heard a single applause inches away from him. Tsuzuki looked up to see Emiko walking towards them clapping.

"Well done!" she cheered, "Beautiful, beautiful!" Tsuzuki glared at her.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked in a hiss. The butch demon shrugged.

"The whole time," she said something.

"You were there the whole time and did nothing?!" he shouted.

"I wouldn't have much help anyway, would I?" she asked. Tsuzuki looked away frustrated and turned back to Anna. She looked like she was in a rather calming dreaming state in his arms. Emiko cleared her throat.

"Anyway, Anna's going to be fine," the butch demon brushed off, "She just needs to sleep it off." Tsuzuki looked puzzled at her.

"How do you know all of that?" he asked.

"She's a strong woman," Emiko broke down for him, "Her own strength is what pulled her out of Aki's death trap. Lucky that she found it just in time; otherwise…" The butch demon shook her head to herself rather than finish her own sentence.

"How did she get out though?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Dunno," Emiko replied with her eyes on Anna's crumbling wings, "You'll have to ask her when she wakes up. Right now, we have to get her inside for proper rest."

"Right," Tsuzuki said with a nod. They both took Anna into Kimoto Manor right away.

Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and the demons monitored Anna through the night. The wings on her back crumbled away within hours as she slept. Despite her borrowed life span being shortened for a second time, Anna looked like she would fully recover. Near sunrise, Tsuzuki came into the living room to check in Anna. He found Hotaru sitting next to her painting her nails in the dim lamplight on the side table next to her.

"Hotaru, what are you doing to her?" the Shinigami asked rather curious. The loli demon didn't look up as she painted Anna's left ring finger nail with blackish-blue nail paint.

"Just thought I'd give her something nice took look at when she wakes up," she said before blowing on the nail, "Is that okay?"

"Ah," Tsuzuki replied without much thought. Hotaru finished up the manicure and closed the nail polish.

"There," she said once she gave all five nails on the left hand one final blow, "We just have to wait for her to wake up." She and Tsuzuki turned back to Anna as she slept on the brightly colored couch in front of them.

By morning, Anna woke up to see Tsuzuki sitting by her side with a soft smile.

"Hey," he whispered. The woman looked around with a blank stare.

"What happened? Where am I?" she asked. She looked at her hands and noticed her nails. "And who did this to my nails?" Anna asked.

"Hotaru," Tsuzuki answered, "Your living room and you survived Yasuo's attack."

"Ah," Anna said in a quiet voice.

"Speaking of which, how did you break the spell?" Tsuzuki spoke up. The woman thought about the best way she could answer.

"It's hard to say," she said as she tried to collect her thought, "It was like I didn't want to die that kept me going." Tsuzuki noticed Anna shuddering in her pause.

"What's the matter?" he asked as reached for her hand. Anna looked up at him rather pale.

"While I was out, I saw how my aunts were killed," she said in a slow cadence in her speech pattern. She trembled before speaking. Tsuzuki grabbed her hand as if to try and help her through. Anna swallowed and forced herself to keep going.

"Yumiko was burned and died of shock later that die," she spoke, "Kirika was severely beaten and went brain dead in the hospital after nine days." Anna felt her stomach turned as she fought down her sickness.

"That bitch! What a horrible way for somebody to die!" she cried, "She needs to pay for what she has done! I want… I want… I want to kill her!" Tsuzuki lightly took Anna into his arms. She went silent almost immediately.

"Shhh, it's okay," the Shinigami murmured as he held her tightly, "You will avenge your father and aunts soon. Don't let your grandmother work you up. You'll just play into her hands. Please don't do anything rash, okay?" Anna said nothing and sighed against his chest.

"Fine," she whispered.

"Very good," he said softly in her hair. Tsuzuki knew that wouldn't be enough keep her calm anymore. After all, the black pawn had already been moved for them in this unforgiving game.

Owari


End file.
